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Searching Sound

Posted by michael on from the when-grep-isn't-enough dept.

Technology Review has one of their few stories that's not registration-required describing searching audio files for any specified set of sounds. All sorts of interesting applications become possible if you can turn analog audio into a digitally-useful product without massive human intervention.

7 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. When you think about it... by Ieshan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When you think about it, though, government and military agencies must have had this for quite some time.

    Tapping and bugging really does no good unless you've got someone listening all the time - and that's both expensive and impossible. While I realize that someone only has to be listening every time someone makes a phone call with the tapping situation, the outcome is lots more hours of audio then are feasible to search and use.

    If we couldn't have searched audio on a wide scale before, then I find it hard to believe we'd ever be catching anyone by specific phone intercepts. Instead, we'd just be using that sort of thing as evidence.

    I mean, I realize this is a great technology, I just doubt it's as "new" as it seems...

    1. Re:When you think about it... by Chris_Stankowitz · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Tapping and bugging really does no good unless you've got someone listening all the time -

      It was done this way for many many years. It is partly why many investigations took a long time to be fruitfull. There are also laws in some states that do not allow for a tapping to continue if after "xyz time" has passed without any usefull information.

    2. Re:When you think about it... by arvindn · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I'm not sure.

      What's new about this technology is that it does searches without transcription, but instead works at the phoneme level. This doesn't mean that the results are more accurate than if transcription and indexing are used. Its just that the new technique has applications in some cases that can't be handled by the conventional method, like when your model is inadequate, and you would lose information by converting phonemes into lexical form.

      Its not clear how this sort of thing would be useful for the military. My guess is that for the purpose of espionage it would be much better to have the recording converted to text first.

    3. Re:When you think about it... by PerryMason · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The big problem with this sort of technology is that in the past when you wanted to tap someone, you had to have a good reason (good enough to persuade a judge anyway) and you had limits on what you could and could not record/listen to. Now with technology like this and Echelon etc, it becomes possible to monitor every person who makes a phone call or sends an email. In effect you are presumed guilty and have to prove your innocence by not discussing or commiting a crime. One of the fundamental tenets of the western legal tradition is that you're presumed innocent until proven guilty and technology like Echelon turns that right on its head. Its just another example of fundamental rights being subjugated for the purpose of protecting us from 'evil-doers' who will just end up using other methods of communication. Meanwhile its you and I who end up losing our rights.

      Its similar in some ways to the mass DNA testing of populations to find a rapist for instance. Every person submits a sample, but is it likely that the perpetrator is going to submit their's? Every member of the population is presumed guilty until they prove themselves innocent, while the guilty simply refuses the test, and anyone who refuses the test, regardless of grounds, is tarred with the brush.

      I honestly think we're at the beginning of a massive degredation of human rights (particularly privacy) as a result of both technological and global factors. Unless we do something to ensure our fundamental rights, it really won't be that long till 1984.

      --
      "I'm tired of all this 'Aren't humanity great' bullshit. We're a virus with shoes" - Bill Hicks
  2. Re:Usage scenario by MacroRex · · Score: 3, Interesting

    (paranoia)
    No really, what if they start bugging public places where people talk a lot (bars etc) and run the output through something like this? After acquiring a speech sample from bank/airport/whatever and thus connecting it to a person, it's a breeze to have a global textual log of everything the person says in a public place.

    Of course, the article talks only about deconstructing the audio sample into words, but further analysis is a natural extension of the idea.
    (/paranoia)

  3. Google for sounds? by Shiranui · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It would be cool if we're able to actually 'search' for any soundbytes. Even with altered speed / tone.

    Listening to all those techno remixes, I always have a hard time trying to find out where those cute backgound soundbytes came from...only to find out it was a heavily distorted Mozart or a mixed up vocal of JFK.

  4. RIAA funding forthcoming? by fluffhead · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I wonder if the RIAA will throw money at this type of technology, to help catch "pirates" who might otherwise escape by subtly transmogrifying their shared MP3s. Or maybe it already has?

    --

    #include "disclaim.h"
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