Page 39 - The EDIT | Q3 2017

Discovery
Can you hear me now?
YOUR OWN PERSONALIZED VOICE AI ASSISTANT IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER
Growing up I have fond memories of late nights in my dad’s office at the Microsoft R&D headquarters camped out under his desk. There I would read sci-fi classics from Jules Verne to Ray Bradbury, my imagination exploring these fantastic worlds.
39
My dad’s work was building early voice AI tools, and sometimes he would let me test it out. So I would play around and
try to manipulate the software to create a talking computer companion. While I could get the computer to acknowledge me by name, beyond that it could barely understand a word I said.
Not quite the futuristic friend I was hoping for. But, looking back I can see how influential those moments were in building my current obsession with Voice AI.
Humanity has dreamed of voice artificial intelligence for decades. More than just a mere pop culture reference, voice AI has been on the very top of our collective sci-fi wish list (or fear list, depending on who you ask). But are we any closer to that dream where we can be like Iron Man with our
own J.A.R.V.I.S?
In short, we’re almost there. Voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant are growing up before our eyes. Breakthroughs in natural language processing and voice synthesis have laid the foundation
for communication between man and machine. Amazon Alexa helps you place orders using only your voice. Leading voice recognition systems such
as Google Assistant have already reached 95% accuracy.
I’m excited to be part of a project that straddles both the future of AI and the future of wearables.
ORII is a smart ring that helps you use your voice assistant while on- the-go. Natural language processing helps you verbalize and send a
message without using your phone’s screen. These fundamental building blocks of big data, natural language processing, and voice assistants in our phones all point toward a future where that futuristic friend I had hope for, may now become a reality. Not one that just responds to me, but one where my voice AI can truly anticipate my needs.
Kevin Wong CEO & Founder of Origami Labs
THE EDIT ISSUE 7 | Q3 2017