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SpinVox "Recognition" Is Often Expensive Human Transcription

Posted by timothy on from the comes-with-free-offsite-backups dept.

An anonymous reader writes "SpinVox offers to convert voice messages to text using a system called D2 or 'the Brain.' According to BBC News, said 'Brain' is often of the old-fashioned kind: SpinVox is sending private voice messages to South Africa, the Philippines, and maybe Egypt to be typed by people in a call centre, despite being registered as keeping all private data inside Europe and claiming that the text is somehow anonymised. Insiders say they transcribed 'love messages, secret messages' and everything else from beginning to end, and the company is being bled dry by the cost: SpinVox has been locked out of one of their data centers over a payment dispute. SpinVox refuses to comment further on details — but according to their web page, they're 'enabling the Speech 3.0, Voice 3.0, and Business 3.0 markets,' whatever that means."

6 of 226 comments (clear)

  1. O(human) by NovaX81 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Best algorithm, ever.

  2. Speech 3.0 by Wingman+5 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now with 20% more vowels!

  3. Re:But it's not crazy by amicusNYCL · · Score: 5, Informative

    But it also knows what it doesn't know and is able to call on human experts for assistance.

    http://www.spinvox.com/how_it_works.html

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  4. Automatic Slashdot speech-to-text by SomeJoel · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's nothing, I just bought an application that converts my speech to text. Read that back to me. I said, read that back to me. God damn it, what the hell is wrong with this thing. Stupid blinking light, what the hell is that supposed to mean? This is... oh here we go. No, don't send

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  5. Re:How good can a transcription be? by ZosoZ · · Score: 5, Funny

    There service is grate eye ewe sit all the thyme and have no Corrs two comp lane. The dick shun eerie cheque reports no missed aches.

  6. Bender vs Apu by Sloppy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Losing your job to Bender: technological progress.

    Losing your job to Apu: outrage.

    But really, what's the difference? A service is a service. It's all progress .. sort of.

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