Machines Like Us

Speech technology has long languished in the no-man's land between sci-fi fantasy ("Computer, engage warp drive!") and disappointing reality ("For further assistance, please say or press 1 ...").

But that's about to change, as advances in computing power make voice recognition the next big thing in electronic security and user-interface design.

A whole host of highly advanced speech technologies, including emotion and lie detection, are moving from the lab to the marketplace.

"This is not a new technology," says Daniel Hong, an analyst at Datamonitor who specializes in speech technology. "But it took a long time for Moore's Law to make it viable."

Read full story at Wired.