Based on his decades of research, Nass demonstrates that-although we might deny it-we treat computers and other devices like people: we empathize with them, argue with them, form bonds with them. We even lie to them to protect their feelings.

This book is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to voice user interface (VUI) design. The VUI is perhaps the most critical factor in the success of any automated speech recognition (ASR) system, determining whether the user experience will be satisfying or frustrating, or even whether the customer will remain one. This book describes a practical methodology for creating an effective VUI design. The methodology is scientifically based on principles in linguistics, psychology, and language technology, and is illustrated here by examples drawn from the authors' work at Nuance Communications, the market leader in ASR development and deployment.

Voice user interfaces (VUIs) are becoming all the rage today. But how do you build one that people can actually converse with? Whether you’re designing a mobile app, a toy, or a device such as a home assistant, this practical book guides you through basic VUI design principles, helps you choose the right speech recognition engine, and shows you how to measure your VUI’s performance and improve upon it.

Wired for Speech presents new theories and experiments and applies them to critical issues concerning how people interact with technology-based voices. It considers how people respond to a female voice in e-commerce (does stereotyping matter?), how a car's voice can promote safer driving (are "happy" cars better cars?), whether synthetic voices have personality and emotion (is sounding like a person always good?), whether an automated call center should apologize when it cannot understand a spoken request ("To Err is Interface; To Blame, Complex"), and much more.

Make it faster, easier, and more enjoyable to get things done. Delight your customers with a new way to interact as they engage Alexa in conversation.

Now, Kadakia advises founders to constantly return to on one all-important question: what problem in the world are you trying to solve? With her eye steadily on the mission, and a laser focus on only the most critical metrics, she guided her company from a near-bust to a $470 million game-changer. In this exclusive interview, she walks through that trajectory, sharing the nine key lessons she’s learned on how startups building a marketplace can find product/market fit.

Superintelligence asks the questions: What happens when machines surpass humans in general intelligence? Will artificial agents save or destroy us? Nick Bostrom lays the foundation for understanding the future of humanity and intelligent life.

More and more voice-controlled devices, such as the Apple HomePod, Google Home, and Amazon Echo, are storming the market. Voice user interfaces are helping to improve all kinds of different user experiences, and some believe that voice will power 50% of all searches by 2020.

Rotman School of Management professor Ajay Agrawal explains how AI changes the cost of prediction and what this means for business.

Common Voice is a project to help make voice recognition open to everyone. Now you can donate your voice to help us build an open-source voice database that anyone can use to make innovative apps for devices and the web.