Voice Assistants

• [New] As voice technology continues to reach new levels of sophistication and the rate of smart speaker ownership in Australia steadily increases, we can expect voice search to become a mainstream activity in the coming years. Ad News
• [New] One trend that will continue to grow in 2021 is using AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants to improve efficiency and customer service. ETTE
• [New] In 2021 alone, the use of chatbots is expected to quadruple, while the number of available chatbot solutions is also expected to nearly double. World Technology Trend
• Philippines The outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army has become quite critical of Chinese foreign policy and has persistently voiced concern over the perceived threat posed to national sovereignty and territorial security by the intensifying US-China great power competition. Lucas Webber
• Elaborating on Bharti, Jefferies said it expects India mobile revenues to grow by an estimated seven per cent quarter-on-quarter in Q2 FY22, led by seven per cent growth in ARPU to Rs157 on the back of tariff hikes in the prepaid voice and corporate postpaid segments that were effective from August. Newsd.in
• Juniper Research in 2019 forecast $80 billion in voice commerce by 2023, but revised that prediction in August to show that eCommerce transactions via voice assistants will reach only $19.4 billion by 2023. PYMNTS.com
• 70% of consumers will replace their visits to brick and mortar shops or banks with voice assistants in the coming three years. ProProfs
• Despite the progress made over the last 20 years, there is still a strong anti-U.S. lobby in India, whose voices will be empowered if Washington goes ahead even with very mild sanctions. The Hill
• The Chinese Communist Party's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has voiced criticism over the new trilateral agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, which will see nuclear submarines built in Adelaide via a knowledge sharing arrangement. Defence Connect
• A vulnerability in the Voice Telephony Service Provider service of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass configured destination patterns and dial arbitrary numbers. CISA
• ITRM vendors will embed machine learning capabilities into their products on a larger scale, including natural language processing, embedded chatbots, and evidence suggestions based on previously given evidence. Best Backup and Disaster Recovery Tools, Software, Solutions & Vendors
• Amazon will launch an Alexa-powered voice assistant at Disney's resorts and hotels, along with a feature that lets customers interact with Disney characters at home. CNA
• Knowles Corp. has launched a Raspberry Pi development kit that will allow engineers to bring voice, audio edge processing and machine learning capabilities to internet of things applications. IHS Electronics360
• General Motors and Amazon today announced plans to introduce the OnStar Guardian skill for Amazon Alexa, a new feature that will provide a voice-enabled connection to Emergency-Certified OnStar Advisors at home through compatible Alexa-enabled devices. Auto Connected Car News
• Over 2 billion end devices will be shipped with a dedicated chipset for ambient sound or natural language processing by 2026. ABI Research
• The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has voiced criticism over the new trilateral agreement, which will see nuclear submarines built in Adelaide via a knowledge sharing and cyber security arrangement. Cyber Security Intelligence
• When AI chatbots can engage in meaningful conversations with users, the customer experience automatically improves, which will be a top priority for company leaders in the next five years. Medium
• While most consider multi-factor authentication to be highly secure, companies like Microsoft now urge users to stop using SMS and voice authentication methods due to their increased security risks. Exploding Topics
• Voice assistants are growing exponentially in other industries such as healthcare and banking, opening up new opportunities for players in the global wireless speaker market. Borealnet
• A group of independent digital publications will use funding from Google and Facebook to form an industry body to give publications a stronger voice on key industry issues. Business Insider Australia
• Since early last year, Google has blocked new AI features analyzing emotions, fearing cultural insensitivity, while Microsoft restricted software mimicking voices and IBM rejected a client request for an advanced facial-recognition system. Reuters
• Building on ever-smaller connected devices, over the next several years AI-driven voice input assistants such as Alexa, Google Home and Siri will not only take commands but will act as sensors that can detect illness, provide home security, etc. Insurance Thought Leadership
• Celebrity applications of voice clones are likely to be the most prominent in the next few years, with companies hoping the famous will want to boost their income with minimal effort by cloning and renting out their voices. The Verge

Last updated: 24 October 2021