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Computer programs that react to speech gain real-world use
The man on the other end of the phone was angry — very angry. A senior citizen, he had just received a bill for medical insurance that included a sizable increase in his monthly premium. He dialed up WPS Health Insurance and gave one of the telephone operators a piece of his mind.
But the call center employee was not the only one listening. The outraged customer was also speaking to a powerful computer that analyzed his words and his tone of voice. A vocabulary database identified each insult, while an emotion detector sampled his rage. A couple of minutes into the call, the computer came to a decision. If WPS wanted to hang onto this customer, he had better be connected to a supervisor — and fast.
By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff
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