Episodes
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Five different french audio startups explain what their companies’ missions are as they’re interviewed at the Vivatech 2021 mega-conference in Paris, France.
One french company that stood out was Cogneed, which focuses on the power of AI specifically when it comes to Inside Sales, Customer Care & Sales Development Reps, assisting them with dynamic display of relevant information, triggered by audio detection.
Then comes Storyfox, a video interview tool that companies can use to create structured interviews using templates. This could especially be beneficial for companies that are looking to hire new employees as it makes the process much quicker.
Next, we interview Playplay, an online video editing tool that allows anyone to create videos easily, as videos are the main form of content that users consume. It also has a new feature that can be used to create videos for podcasts including automated motion design and automatic subtitles.
Afterwards, we learn all about Sonup, a startup that’s based in Montpellier. It’s an innovative and reliable solution for healthcare professionals wishing to offer their patients a hearing assessment service. They explain why their solution is important for people with hearing problems.
Last but not least, we get to know Odiho, a company that provides sound to soundless advertising, such as video billboards. People can scan the QR code on the ad to watch the video with sound on their cellphones.
Listen to the full episode to get the answers to all of your burning questions!
Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep086
HighlightsSponsor Links
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VivaTech CogneedStoryfoxPlayplaySonupOdihoSubscribe for more episodes
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Hans van Dam is the CEO of Conversation Design Institute, a company that teaches a human-centric workflow to conversation design which has proven itself in organisations around the world. This is Hans’s second appearance on the show, the first one being in episode 51 back in January.
Hans explains what exactly conversation design means and focuses on its importance regarding conversational AI technologies. He shares his vast experience with training conversation designers at CDI, in order to successfully automate conversations in 2021.
CDI’s Conversation Design Festival is coming up on June 15th. Attendees will learn from AI Trainers, Conversation Designers and Conversational Copywriters who will share their professional experiences and give advice on optimizing AI assistants like chatbots and voice assistants.
We hope to see you at the Conversation Design Festival on June 15th. Grab a ticket now using our discount code!
Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep085
HighlightsSponsor Links
Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19Conversation Design Institute << 25% off courses: VOICETECH25Voice Tech Pro listener upgrade << no adsRumble Studio << create your free accountLinks from the show
Conversation Design Festival << $50 discount code: VOICETECH100Become an Expert in Conversation Design << VOICETECH25Voice Tech Podcast ep.051Hans van Dam’s Youtube channelSubscribe for more episodes
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Jaime Bosch is the co-founder CEO of Voicemod, a massively popular real-time voice manipulation, augmentation & soundboard application for Windows PC. He is joined by Alex Bordanova, Director of Audio Experience at Voicemod.
Based in Valencia, Spain, Voicemod has amassed over 17 million registered users & is the number one choice to create a unique & powerful sonic identity, whether it’s for gaming, content creation, dungeon-mastering, or just hanging out with friends online.
We hear samples of a range of voice changing effects made by Voicemod & discuss the applications of these in various industries. We also dive into the challenges of real-time audio programming & hear about the lessons learned while building this awesome voice startup.
Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep084
HighlightsSponsor Links
Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19Conversation Design Institute << 25% off courses: VOICETECH25Voice Tech Pro listener upgrade << no adsRumble Studio << create your free accountLinks from the show
VoicemodDownload Voicemod for freeVoicemod on YoutubeVoicemod is hiring! [email protected] voicemod pack - ScreenRantDark Vader voice - LifeHackerVoicemod raises 8 million - VentureBeatVoicemod on Windows CentralThe Golden Rules of Audio Programming, Pete GoodliffeFabian Renn-Giles & Dave Rowland - Real-time 101Dave Rowland - Real-time Tradeoffs in Audio ProgrammingValerio Velardo TutorialsSubscribe for more episodes
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Muddu Sudhakar is the CEO of Aisera, the world’s first solution to use Conversational AI and Conversational RPA to transform the Service Desk in the Enterprise.
We discuss how enterprises are using Aisera’s A.I. to automate and auto-resolve service desk requests from both employees and customers. Muddu predicts that service desk tools will be used less over the coming years, to be replaced by self-service AI-powered Conversational platforms on collaboration tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Slack.
Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19Conversation Design Institute << 25% off courses: VOICETECH25Voice Tech Pro listener upgrade << no adsRumble Studio << create your free account
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Marco Liuni is the co-founder and audio miner at Alta Voce, a research-backed startup based in Paris, France that shapes the emotions in human and artificial voices to enhance communication.
Their product, Alta Call, is a voice transformation technology for contact centers, improving both the clarity of speech and enhancing the smile in the voice. Marco explains how their tech works, and we hear samples of audio that have been transformed.
We also cover some of the ethical issues of transforming human voice, and how they are tackling this in the product. Marco shares his advice for newcomers to the field of speech transformation, and some of his recommended reading.
Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep082a
HighlightsSponsor Links
Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19Conversation Design Institute << 25% off courses: VOICETECH25Voice Tech Pro listener upgrade << no adsRumble Studio << create your free accountLinks from the show
Alta Voce (alta-voce.tech)IRCAMItalo Calvino - Invisible CitiesReinventing Organisations - Frederic LalouxVoice Tech Podcast - Pablo Arias, Smiles in the VoiceSubscribe for more episodes
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Christian Mahnke is CEO of EarReality, which helps some of the biggest companies in the world such as Disney, Audible, and Vox create interactive stories for voice marketing. Their stories are published on Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung Bixby and more.
Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep081a
Christian shares some of his best practices for interactive voice writers, including why it's important to write characters that people identify with.
EarReality is set for success with the upcoming launch of Twist, their interactive storytelling tool for voice technology. Find out more by giving this episode a listen!
Recorded asynchronously on Rumble Studio
HighlightsLinks to click
Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19Conversation Design Institute << 25% off courses: VOICETECH25Rumble Studio << Create your podcast for [email protected] FalconLinkedIn l Christian Mahnke Amazon Alexa Games Skill Challenge Winners Announced for Europe l Voicebot.ai (1st prize)EarReality wants to help storytellers find their voice l Bixby Developers Why Obsidian uses AI voices for game development l SonanticTWIST - Tutorials
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Christian Petroske is President of Shoutworks, a new Wordpress plugin that lets you publish content to Amazon Alexa with the push of a button. ShoutWorks lets you send notifications through Amazon Alexa, with a 90 percent plus open rate. This helps publishers grow their audience, get more leads, and boost sales in a few clicks.
In this episode, Christian and host Carl Robinson discuss the Shoutworks Wordpress plugin, what it is, and how it helps you create an Alexa skill in just one click. Christian also discusses why the pandemic is a good time to launch a voice start-up, and what’s currently holding the voice tech industry back.
Christian discusses why his team took a template-first approach, and the benefits to developers and end-users. Voice Tech finds out what Christian believes is holding back the voice industry right now, along with why launching a voice startup during a pandemic is a very smart move!
This sophisticated Shoutworks plugin allows smaller publishers to use the content from their blog, and then through the plugin send notifications to Alexa seamlessly.
Until now, this accessibility has only been available to larger publishers, including NPR, Coca-Cola, because megabrands such as these can spend thousands of dollars on creating Alexa skills. This has allowed big-name brands to drive significant traffic to their Wordpress sites via Shoutworks.
Shoutworks’ goal is to democratize access to Amazon Alexa. It is super easy to use, and takes away the expensive and time-intensive aspects of building an Alexa skill.
The real problem Shoutworks is solving is for small businesses and entrepreneurs to build an audience and drive engagement over this new voice tech medium. With voice tech, businesses definitely have less competition, and the possibilities for deeper engagement are actually greater. Shoutworks is changing the playing field for smaller publishers with limited resources, opening up new opportunities for massive engagement.
Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep080
Highlights
Quotes from the show
[06:49] Shoutworks is a WordPress plugin, creating an Alexa skill from a WordPress site in one click.[07:39] Large brands spend $10,000s to create custom skills. We make that available to anyone.
[20:29] It's about getting your content out there with the least amount of effort.
Links to click● Shoutworks.com
● Shoutworks.com/affiliate
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Simon Landry is the founder of Voice Market Data, a service that makes voice market data more accessible to voice developers. We discover how a macro view of the Alexa marketplace can help us measure app success in different markets, spot new product opportunities and feature ideas, and highlight discoverability issues.
Simon’s extensive academic background has given him a unique ability to unearth rich data, and present it in an accessible format that can be understood by all. This is a fascinating look at the true nature of the Amazon Alexa marketplace and makes for essential listening for all voice app developers and creators.
Highlights
● Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep079Links to click
● Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19
● Robocopy Conversation Design Course << 25% off with this link
● Voice Tech Pro listener upgrade << no ads, early access, bonus content
● Rumble Studio
● Voice Market Data
● Simon Landry on LinkedIn
● Simon’s book: The Science of Conversational Design
● Simon et Guy Cours en Francais
● Empathy Engine
● Poop Detective Alexa Skill
● Alexa in Canada Podcast with Simon
Subscribe for more episodes● Apple iTunes:https://apple.co/2LqW4ol
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This episode was created by Roger Kibbe, senior developer evangelist for Viv Labs/Samsung, for the Bixby Developers Chat podcast. Roger interviewed me, Carl Robinson, about my new project, Rumble Studio. It’s an innovative new tool for recording podcasts and audio content asynchronously; and yes, we used Rumble Studio to record this podcast!
Here’s what Roger wrote in the original podcast description:
We discuss how Carl got involved in podcasting and what he has learned 70+ podcasts in. Carl gives some very valuable advice for both beginning podcasters and more experienced podcasters.
We then discuss Rumble Voice, the innovative new way to record podcasts and other audio content. Using Rumble Voice, the questions and answers (host and guest) can be recorded asynchronously. This podcast was recorded using Rumble Studio and I recorded all of the questions from my home office in Walnut Creek, California at my leisure. Carl recorded his answers from Paris, France at his leisure. Rumble studio takes care of the logistics and then stitching everything together at the end. It's truly a different way of creating audio content like podcasts.
We discuss the high costs/effort required to create quality audio content and how Rumble Studio was created to alleviate this problem. We also discuss how Rumble Studio unlocks creating short-form audio which can be recombined into new content and the exciting possibilities for web search engines to index audio content.
We finish by discussing the state of the voice industry. What is working right now and what needs improvement. And where voice can go.
Roger gives a short 2-minute review of Rumble Studio at the end of the podcast.
Links from the show:
Rumble Studio - https://rumble.studio/Rumble Studio LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/rumble-studio/
All Bixby Developers Chat Episodes available at:
bixbydev.buzzsprout.com/
Carl Robinson - Twitter: @VoiceTechCarl
Carl Robinson - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlrobins0n/
Carl Robinson - [email protected]
Voice Tech Podcast - https://voicetechpodcast.com/
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More about Bixby
Samsung Bixby is a next-generation, AI platform that enables developers to build rich voice and conversational AI experiences for the Bixby Marketplace, and Bixby devices including phones, watches, televisions, smart appliances, and more.Bixby Developers Homepage - https://bixbydevelopers.com/
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This is a time-limited preview. To hear the full episode, and access the full catalogue of episodes and bonus content, become a Voice Tech Pro
Design Sprint was greeted by Jake Knapp, and the idea is to build and test a prototype in only five days. A small team works for a week to rapidly progress from problem to tested solution, using a proven step-by-step checklist. Jake describes it as fast-forwarding into the future so you can see how customers react before you invest all the time and expense of building a real product.The Design Sprint is a method that has been adopted across digital industries to make better product designs in a faster period of time. The sprint goes from a challenge to a prototype for users. The sprint has strength in the fact that it allows input from users from the very start, and the intense period of everyone working together inevitably results in success.
Maaike has been consulting in voice since the beginning. At the start there were challenges because no one knew how much artificial intelligence could do for voice technology. Next, everyone had diverse ideas and team alignment around projects was difficult. Not everyone had the same knowledge, and there was not enough user knowledge.
Because of these challenges, Maaike began to look at the methodology around team alignment and speed. That’s where Design Sprint came into play. Maaike Coppens began doing some Design Sprint and quickly saw it solved a lot of problems, but it did not solve the learning gap or learning gap for participants when it came to artificial intelligence.
The Voice X Design Sprint was borne of these different elements. It is platform-agnostic and takes into account all different variations and domains voice can be a part of. Voice X Design Sprint leverages what voice technology is about, so that people can not only understand with their mind what voice technology is about, what users are experiencing with their brand. Voice X embodies these things through serious plan, through role play.
Highlights
● Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep077
Quotes from the show[07:16] Design Sprint is both good for companies, and for end users.
[13:28] Voice X Design Sprint is platform-agnostic.
[19:47] If you live in siloes what happens is that frustration comes about.
[28:00] The “understand” phase gets a lot of focus in the spring.
[59:36] We must ensure this complex thing is worth building.
Links from the show
Voice of Money 2020 Conference << 30% off with VOICETECHCARLManning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19Robocopy Conversation Design Course << 25% off with this linkVoice Tech Pro listener upgrade << no ads, early access, bonus contentGreenshoot LabsMaaike CoppensMaaike Coppens on LinkedInStephane Crouchon, founder, Design SprintHeidi Culbertson - Promptful.aiBecome a Voice Tech ProcomGM VoicesSupport the show -
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Imagine if voice technology could be used to diagnose diseases! This could be a reality if voice tech is used to identify non-speech sounds, such as coughs. This focus is of particular interest at the moment as the world’s governments rally resources to protect populations against COVID-19.This is one area of focus for this week’s guest, Prof. Ami Moyal, President, Afeka Tel Aviv College of Engineering, Israel. Prof. Ami also talks about the future of voice technology and what we should be teaching children for them to be successful in the world.
Teaching is the main function of Afeka, but it does focus on research and applied research, in collaboration with industry. This stimulates a culture of creativity.
The Afeka Centre for Language Processing has been researching the use of speech processing and artificial intelligence algorithms for providing a quick and readily available pre-diagnostic assessment of COVID-19 infection, without the need for human intervention.
When it comes to a rapidly spreading virus such as COVID-19, with millions of potential carriers amongst the global population, it is essential to identify likely carriers of the virus at the early stage of infection in order to prioritize testing efforts and break the chain of transmission.
Among the earliest symptoms of COVID-19 are vocal cord edema and vocal cord infection. These affect vocal cord patterns. Afeka is modelling samples of speech, coughing and breathing, from both symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers, to compare with models taken with health subjects. Afeka is also modeling vocalization of subjects that tested negative for COVID-19, yet are exhibiting similar symptoms. This will allow the differentiation between someone who is a carrier, and someone who is not.
Prof. Ami says that people were initially hesitant about using voice commands. But this perception has changed, even for simple voice commands. In the not-so-distant-future, we will be able to communicate with any object or machine using our voice. Machines will be able to communicate with humans, using simulated voices.
Taking Afeka’s COVID-19 research a step further, Prof. Ami says he imagines one day that our voices will be analyzed continuously by our cell phones, which will notify us in real time when to go and see a doctor, because it has discovered a change in our voice that may result in an ailment.
Google, Amazon, and Facebook have defined speech recognition as a strategic goal. This will lead to major advances in the use of speech recognition. Eventually, we will be able to communicate freely with any device, whether it’s our mobile phone, refrigerator, robot, or our car.
For content producers, they must think about how they are producing content for the search algorithms of the future. Searches will be instigated through voice recognition.
Looking to the future, we need to equip children with both the skills and the knowledge to use speech recognition technology. The current generation must be able to analyze data, and be able to solve unpredictable problems.
Highlights
● Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep076
Quotes from the show
[08:28] It is essential to identify likely carriers of the virus to prioritize testing.[08:37] Prioritizing testing breaks the chain of COVID-19 transmission
[10:17] Among the earliest symptoms of COVID-19 are vocal cord edema and vocal cord infection.
[12:02] In the future, we will be able to communicate with any object or machine using our voice.
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This is a time-limited preview. To hear the full episode, and access the full catalogue of episodes and bonus content, become a Voice Tech Pro
Today on the show, we welcome Jason Croyle, the Director of Partnerships at Speak2Web, and Dr. Saksham Sharda, the Creative Director at Outgrow, to talk about interactive websites and website marketing through conversational interaction.In this episode, we learn more about the features of both the Speak2Web and Outgrow platforms and how they differ. Speak2Web helps customers create an integrative web and voice experience, whereas Outgrow is focused more on interactive content for your website (think calculators, quizzes, and chatbots). We discuss how you can improve customer experience and accessibility with voice interactivity, and debate whether talking to a desktop or a website will eventually be a thing of the future!
On the tech side, we get stuck into the effect of voice applets and widgets on conversion rates, SEO, as well as the importance of gamification in the information age. Speaking with a website is not something that most of us are 100% familiar with just yet, and this episode offers a unique glimpse into the future of the web.
Highlights● Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep075
Quotes from the show[21:30] Anything static on your website can be turned into something interactive.
[28:50] In the future, we’re also looking at technologies like web VR coming.
[40:25] I worry whether email is excluding an entire generation...
Links to click● Digital Book World 2020 Conference << 30% off with VOICETECHCARL
● Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19
● Voice Tech Pro listener upgrade << no ads, early access, bonus content
● Saksham Sharda on LinkedIn
● Saksham Sharda on Twitter
● Jason Croyle on LinkedIn
● Jason Croyle on Twitter
● Speak2Web << discount code: VoiceTechCarl2020
● Outgrow << discount code: outgrow+voicetech (enter this in the chat bot in the bottom-right of the page)
● IBM Watson
● TikTok
● Cutting Edge Gamer
● Firefox full browser voice controls
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When we talk about the way that AI will shape the future, there are such polarized beliefs, with one camp fearing it and the other vehemently dismissing these fear-filled claims. Today’s guest, Byron Reese, believes that these opposing views stem from fundamentally different world views.Byron is the former CEO of Gigaom, a well-respected technology publication and tech research company that writes about trends and tech that business leaders need to know about and understand. He is also a prolific author, host of the Voices in AI podcast, and futurist.
This episode covers a wide range of topics, and we kick off by delving into the world of voice tech. As Byron has used many of these platforms, numerous questions have come to the surface for him. We ponder whether our interactions with these technologies may spill over into our daily human to human communication as well as how these platforms may corrode human rights.
From there, the discussion moves to whether we, as humans, are machines. As a question Byron asks all his podcast guests, he feels that the reductionist answers he frequently hears do not account for the inexplicable ways our humanity manifests itself. Then, we discuss Byron’s book, The Fourth Age, where he unpacks how this technological period will ultimately shape history. He delves into why the advent of speech, agriculture, and the invention of writing and the wheel, were historical turning points, which depart from the obvious reasons people may think.
After this, we get into the hotly contested AI vs jobs debate. Byron’s insights into why the proliferation of this technology will not result in net job losses are refreshing and backed by historical data. Looking at the jobs technology destroys alone does not account for the opportunities created.
We round the show off with Byron discussing the importance of following your passion, why the ability to learn new things is the most important skill we have, and what’s in store for him. Be sure to listen to this extra-special episode!
Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep074
HighlightsQuotes from the show
[04:38] We live in a world where all the people who are the leaders in the field are accessible
[19:35] If machines can do it, it’s a waste of people to get people to do it.
[38:20] How can half of all jobs vanish every 50 years and we never have systemic unemployment?
[39:44] Can everyone do a job just a little bit harder than the job they have today?
[46:28] The greatest under-utilized resource on the planet are people.
Voice Connected Business EU conference << 30% off code: VoiceTech30EUDigital Book World 2020 Conference << 30% off with VOICETECHCARLManning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19Robocopy Conversation Design Course << 25% off with this linkVoice Tech Pro listener upgrade << no ads, early access, bonus contentByron ReeseByron Reese on TwitterThe Fourth AgeTake the Robot Jobs TestSupport the show
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Aside from having an excellent product, one of the best ways to foster adoption is by building community support early on. One company that has reaped the rewards of taking this approach, is Rasa, an open-source, natural language understanding framework that helps companies build mission-critical contextual assistants, and its co-founder and CTO, Alan Nichol, joins us today.We kick this episode off by learning more about Rasa’s mission to become the no-brainer technology for building conversational AI. They are achieving this through their relentless commitment to community, developer empowerment, and by what Alan calls a ‘no fairy-dust attitude.’ Building conversational AI is not easy, which is why Rasa is inviting developers along for the journey. From there, we move onto why Alan believes it’s important to get products in front of users at soon as you can. Rather than waiting for full development, if you get what you can into people’s hands and let them use it, the feedback will be much richer, culminating in a better outcome.
We then move into discussing the benefits of open-source. There are almost an infinite number of advantages according to Alan, from increased innovation surface area to the ability to squeeze out extra performance. However, the financial realities are important, and we discuss how Rasa’s enterprise products fulfill these needs.
We round the show off by diving into the five levels of conversational AI and where we currently are, why intents are hindering the scalability of these products, and what’s in the pipeline for Rasa.
Highlights
● Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep073
Quotes from the show[14:43] If you’re building conversational AI, you use Rasa. That's where we’re headed.
[13:23] To build a good assistant, build a bad assistant, then give it to people to test.
[24:32] If you think that defensibility is having a secret algorithm, you’re living in a fantasy
[42:06] We’re trying to build a good foundation and then build the right tools on top of that.
Links to click
Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19Voice of Healthcare Summit << 30% off with VOICETECHCARLRobocopy Conversation Design Course << 50% off with this linkVoice Tech Pro listener upgrade << no ads, early access, bonus contentAlan Nichol on LinkedInAlan Nichol on TwitterAlex Weidauer on LinkedInRasaRasa EnterpriseUniversity of CambridgeDockerElasticsearchJovoRachael TatmanRachael Tatman on LinkedInEddy TravelsGitSubscribe for more episodes
Apple iTunes:https://apple.co/2LqW4olSupport the show -
This is a time-limited preview. To hear the full episode, and access the full catalogue of episodes and bonus content, become a Voice Tech Pro
Brand recognition has long been about logos, taglines, and advertising campaigns, but what if you could use a voice that sounded like your brand to add another level of brand awareness? This is one of the many interesting services ReadSpeaker, an innovative text-to-speech company offers, and its founder and CTO, Niclas Bergström, joins us today.In this episode, we learn more about the company and the variety of products they offer. From web-based SaaS solutions for management and educational systems to hyper-customized voices for brands, their solutions can be deployed to any hardware ranging from embedded systems to high-capacity servers on their cloud. From there, we dive into what it takes to build a voice for brands. There are so many characteristics that make voices what they are, which is why brands and ReadSpeaker need to have a common understanding of what makes a voice what it is.
As the industry evolves, so too do the expectations of what a synthetic voice can do, and while people have become much more accepting of them, it’s still important to realize their limitations. We discuss these constraints along with when to use a human voice over a synthetic one. From there, we dive into what the tech giants are doing in the space, and why Niclas believes that small companies will lead the innovation charge rather than the last players.
We round the show off by talking about the future of the industry generally as well as for ReadSpeaker specifically, and there are some big things on the horizon.
Highlights
● Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep072
Quotes from the show[05:55] In a branded voice, you can communicate the company’s values.
[07:24] How does your brand sound? That is the important question.
[48:10] We are not trying to fool people
[51:05] It’s great to be in this industry at this time because it’s never been more fun
Digital Book World 2020 Conference << 30% off with VOICETECHCARLManning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19Robocopy Conversation Design Course << 25% off with this linkVoice Tech Pro listener upgrade << no ads, early access, bonus contentReadSpeakerNiclas Bergstöm on LinkedInBecome a Voice Tech ProVoices.comGM Voices
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This is a special bonus episode recorded on the new Rumble Studio audio platform that I’ve created. Rumble Studio is a conversational A.I. SaaS for businesses to plan, record, publish and distribute audio for content marketing, and in a fraction of the time it takes today. The conversations are recorded asynchronously, so I’ve coined the new term, BotcastTM.The very first BotcastTM to be published on the Voice Tech Podcast is with Rabbi Elijah C Dordek! Elijah (Elie) is the founder of ShanenLi, an app that uses speech recognition to create personal tutor for text based tasks. It’s being first used to help children in the Ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jewish community learn to read and speak Hebrew, and Elie has plans to expand this to any language and any type of text.
We discuss the unique teaching methods Elie has developed, and the value of distance learning during the COVID crisis. We also explore the challenges involved in training speech-to-text models with children, and how technology in general can be used to address cultural pain points.
Elie is looking for excited educators and inspired investors who would like to start pilot programs in schools, for any text based reading tasks. He is in search of a technical co-founder who can help with the programming and/or speech engine technology. If you are interested in joining Elie, or know anyone who might be, please reach out to him at [email protected]
As this is the first interview of this kind, please let me know what you liked or disliked by tweeting @VoiceTechCarl, or email me at [email protected].
Highlights
● Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-bc001
Rumble StudioShanenLi appRabbi Elijah C Dordek on EmailRabbi Elijah C Dordek on LinkedInRabbi Elijah C Dordek on Twitter @AshanenliRabbi Elijah C Dordek on Facebook[VIDEO] ShanenLi Success[VIDEO] Special Ed Teacher successfully helps students succeed in text based tasks[PODCAST] Elie on the Voice for Health podcast with Dr. Teri FisherMy "Mishna Sdura" Series of Jewish TextbooksThe Bizlabs Scalerator in JerusalemMorgane Daniel - Lead Speech Scientist at LaliloMentor - Menachem SheferRon Jowarski - TrinityDr. Teri Fisher - Voice First HealthDr. Michael Eigen with Dr. Aner GovrinSupport the show
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As the voice industry continues to grow in leaps and bounds, conversational components stand out as a key development moving forward. What are these conversational components? Simply put, they are modular blocks of customizable, reusable conversational services, accessible via APIs that can fit together in a myriad of ways to form larger, conversational flows.Conversational Components, known as CoCo are leading the charge with this modular-based component approach. In this episode, Yaki Dunietz, the company's CEO, who has been working in conversational AI for more than 20 years, and Jason Gilbert, lead conversation designer at CoCo, who has designed text-to-voice experiences across a range of conversational channels, join us to share more about the company and its unique approach to chatbots.
We kick the show off by diving into CoCo’s service as a hub and directory for conversational components. We learn about how the components are accessed, vendor publishing, and how searches on the platform work. From there, we move onto how the bots handle queries, both in and out of context. It is vitally important for these bots to engage in small talk, which requires a few thousand smaller bots all to fire at the same time. Through increasing access, CoCo hopes to encourage collaboration and in doing so, propel developments in the space forward.
We round off the show by learning more about Yaki and Jason’s respective backgrounds and how it shaped their thinking, what it takes to build a bot’s personality, and what the future has in store for CoCo.
Highlights
● Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep070
Quotes from the show[07:22] The component resides on the platform
[25:03] Good chatbots, and even good digital assistants, have personality
[43:16] Forging personality and character, creating a chatbot experience, is an artform
Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19Voice Connected Business EU conference << 30% off code: VoiceTech30EUVoice of Healthcare Summit << 30% off with VOICETECHCARLVoice Tech Pro listener upgrade << no ads, early access, bonus contentYaki DunietzYaki Dunietz on TwitterConversational ComponentsConversational Components HubJason F. GilbertScore PublishingTOBiJovoVoiceflowThe Age of Spiritual MachinesJoseph WeizenbaumMitsukuSteve WorswickZootopia
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As the number of voice tech innovations continues to rise, how are investors responding? Is there interest in this potential investment niche or has it not yet penetrated the investor psyche enough for serious capital injection? Today's guest, Yannick Oswald of Mangrove Capital Partners, shares his investor insights into the voice tech space.Mangrove Capital is a venture capital firm chasing transformational ideas around the world, with a focus on early-stage companies before product launch. They have several very successful seed investments such as Skype and Wix, and are very bullish on voice tech. We kick off this episode with Yannick explaining the firm’s interest in the voice space. With a relatively new interest of only a year and a half, they feel that voice can catalyze a shift in technological social interaction.
While conventional social media is a solitary, private experience, voice has the potential to take away the fake façade of other social platforms and reestablish the authentic connection. From there, we learn more about Mangrove’s voice investment, Sybel, and how the platform seeks to reinvent audio entertainment. Yannick found that listening to a documentary provided the same entertainment experience as watching it on screen, which is what sparked his interest. We then move onto podcasts and audio content, and where Yannick sees opportunities for investors. He talks about how this niche will branch off into different genres and the likely determining factors of success. The lockdown has changed the way that people interact with voice and audio platforms, and companies can use this time to cement their places in users’ lives.
The show rounds off with some advice from Yannick for voice tech entrepreneurs and what’s in store for Mangrove Capital moving forward. This was a great discussion, so be sure to tune in!
Highlights
● Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep069
Digital Book World 2020 Conference << 30% off with VOICETECHCARLManning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19Yannick OswaldYannick Oswald on TwitterYannick Oswald on LinkedInMangrove Capital PartnersBecome a Voice Tech ProSybelAlexa Fund
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Today on the show, we welcome Jan König, co-founder of Jovo. Jovo is an open source layer that lets you build and run voice experiences across multiple devices and platforms including, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung Bixby, mobile phone and web apps, and many more!In this episode, we get an inside look into Jovo’s architecture and business model, as well as the latest and greatest version of the build-once deploy-everywhere solution for voice. Jovo version 3 has just been released, and it expands the number of channels you can build for, which now includes Twilio, Facebook Messenger, and even Samsung Bixby. The product has significantly matured and is used by many top brands to build world-class apps today.
Not only do we dig into all the new Jovo v3 features, but we speak about the challenges involved with building an open source startup. On the dev side, we take a look at standards, software patterns, and the design considerations between voice bots versus chat bots. On the industry side, we explore best practices, where the voice market is going beyond the big platforms, and much, much more.
Jan is a highly concentrated source of information, and the insights per minute in this episode is off the charts! So, if you’re looking to have your mind-blown, in multiple directions, then take a listen!
Highlights
● Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep068
Quotes from the show[05:17] For us, voice is not just an afterthought.
[15:50] We’re already seeing companies adopt our component features.
[16:15] There’s not a lot of best practices out there in the voice space.[24:00] Voice is a niche right now, which makes it difficult for an open source voice startup.[27:55] The really good experiences are built by cross-functional teams.
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Voice of Healthcare Summit << 30% off with VOICETECHCARLManning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19Jan König Jan König on TwitterJan König on LinkedInJan König on MediumTwilioJovo V3Jovo Enterprise SuiteSamsung BixbyAmazon AlexaAmazon PayBeta Works/Voice CampDialogFlowVoiceFlowRasaSalesForceOpen Voice NetworkHello WorldAlexa Please Send This to My ScreenSubscribe for more episodes
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This is a time-limited preview. To hear the full episode, and access the full catalogue of episodes and bonus content, become a Voice Tech Pro
Today on the show, we welcome Steve Tingiris. Steve is a leader in the field of voice development, a serial entrepreneur, and amazingly he still codes everyday. He’s the founder of Dabble Lab, which builds tech products and tools to automate business workflows with a strong focus on AI-powered digital assistants and voice. He also runs the hugely popular DabbleLab YouTube channel.The topic of today’s show is getting started with voice development. Here, we hear from Steve about the various stages of his entrepreneurial journey, his experience working with clients, the many challenges he’s faced in the industry, as well as his deep expertise in the Twilio system and developing IVR solutions. Steve also describes what the state of natural language understanding is today and shares his advice for budding voice developers entering the field.
We also get stuck into his YouTube channel and all the tutorials he’s consistently put out over the years to help new and experienced developers hone their craft. If you are just getting started in voice development, this episode is packed with great advice, resources, and motivation to get you going!
Highlights● Available at http://bit.ly/voicetechpodcast-ep067
Quotes from the show[16:13] Bots and humans don’t need to be separate… They work better in tandem.
[19:23] Generally, the goal for any company is to maximize the value of its individual human agents.
[21:00] Consumers have more choice today than they ever have.
[26:35] The biggest mistake I made was underestimating the complexity of designing the CUI
[43:35] You cannot figure out anything without failing. In tech, failure is part of the job.
Steve Tingiris on TwitterSteve Tingiris on LinkedInSteve Tingiris on FacebookDabble LabDabble Lab on YouTube Bot PatternsTwilioJovo V3RasaSalesForceOpen Voice Network
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