A few days ago my boss came up to me and said, “I’ve got the iPhone 4s to help you!” My first thought was why is this 69-year-old Irish man with no technology comfort level upgrading to the most technologically advanced phone on the market? He furthered stated that “he” wouldn’t help me out, but “Siri” would help me do my job. I looked at my boss and asked if I should be concerned about job security?
My boss chuckled and then asked me how to turn on his new phone, as we both laughed, I quickly began thinking about the impacts of voice recognition software and my position. Voice recognition software is not new, but the advancement in the technology in the last several years is remarkable. Currently, there are several very popular voice recognition programs on the market. These programs include Dragon Speak, Windows Speech Recognition software, iListen, ViaVoice, and a handful of others. As this technology has changed, it is also shaping how new products are being marketed to consumers.
Current voice recognition software is broken into two categories, small-vocabulary and large-vocabulary. (Senecal, 2011). Large-scale vocabulary recognition allows for computers to process items on a larger scale, such as writing papers, or specific voice recognition for fields such as legal or medical. (Senecal, 2011). While small-vocabulary programs are targeted for telephone banking or prescription refills.
For consumers, this technology is becoming more affordable and mobile. For example, the geniuses at Apple have developed Siri, a voice activated module on the iPhone 4s. With the touch of a button you can ask Siri to get you directions, reply to emails or just have a digital person to talk to. Siri is smart enough to discuss deep questions, such as what’s for lunch, or the meaning of life. (Apple, 2012). When Siri first came out, the buzz was quite amazing, as many people flocked to Apple stores to see samples as well as test out this new technology. With the popularity of Siri, it is only a matter of time before newer and more advanced technology on voice activation will come out.
Video retrieved from Apple home page
The future of voice activation could include computers understanding the meaning behind the words/voice (Grabianowski, 2011). This would mean that computers could talk back and make complete sense. It is estimated that at the rate technology is advancing, it could be about 25 years before this is ready for market. With this on the horizon, the question then becomes; how do technology based companies develop these tools and begin marketing to consumers now?
With the popularity of Siri, consumers and telephone companies have made it clear that they will pay the $800 dollars per phone to get this technology. While Siri is fun to play with and can be very useful for the executive or professional on the go, there is plenty of time to develop strategies to lure in those who are not currently comfortable with technology and prepare them for what may becoming.
My conversation with my boss may be a 25-year warning for the elimination of my job, as a voice recognition robot could easily make me look incompetent! The lesson here is to learn from my boss’ personality. He is a genius, world-renowned surgeon and oncologist, but can’t type or send an email if his life depended upon it. Yet with all of his challenges and phobias towards technology, he still managed to want a device that had Siri. While Apple is arguably the premier product with mobile voice recognition, as communicators and marketers, we should be jumping on the opportunity to develop plans to lure in new consumers and convert those who do not know they NEED voice recognition software. This technology is a blue ocean in the making. So I may be in a position that a robot with smart voice recognition can replace in 2 and a half decades, but I also can see an opportunity to be part of a strategic plan to gain a market share in undeveloped technology.
References:
(2012). Apple home page. Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/siri.html
Grabianowski, E. (2011). How Speech Recognition Works. How Stuff Works. Retrieved from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/speech-recognition4.htm
Senecal, J. (2012) The future of speech recognition. How Stuff Works. Retrieved from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/speech-recognition4.htm
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