Call centre workers can mimic your accent with AI

摘要

AI SOFTWARE can detect the accent of a person on one end of an online or telephone conversation and modify the accent of a person responding to match it in real time. US-based start-up Sanas hopes its technology will enable greater understanding and clarity in a range of interactions, including customer support, education and telemedicine. The company says that audio can be manipulated to match an accent with a delay of just 200 milliseconds. The software intercepts sounds between the microphone and whichever software is being used to communicate, whether that is Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Skype, and alters what is broadcast. It converts accents using a neural network that has been trained on a range of audio clips, including files found online, recordings made of strangers on the street in cities around the world and recordings made by call centre staff.