Computers: His Master's (Digital) Voice

When Phyllis Weber learned earlier this year that a two-year-old child had died of brain disease in a San Francisco hospital, she immediately dialed a 24-hour alert number in Pittsburgh. The child's liver was still in good condition but would quickly deteriorate, and Weber, who is director of the Northern California Transplant Bank, had only a few hours to find someone who could use it. The voice she reached at the headquarters of the National Association of Transplant Coor- dinators (NATCO) wasted no time getting to the particulars:

"Age of donor?" it asked.

"Two years," Weber replied.

"What is the baby's weight?"

"Nineteen pounds."

"What was the blood type?"

"A-positive."

"Do you want the entire country searched for need?"

"Yes."

After a few moments, the good news came over the line: "The University of Minnesota has a possible recipient. Please dial the following number . . ."

Because of that short telephone conversation, Weber was able to locate a child in Minnesota who needed a liver-transplant operation. Even more remarkable, however, is the fact that the operator who took Weber's call was a machine. In fact, the NATCO alert line is run entirely by a computer that can both talk and listen.

Automatic speech recognition, the technology that enables computers to respond to spoken commands, is old hat to fictional electronic brains like HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey, but still a primitive art in the real world. Computers are not yet discerning enough to cope with the ambiguities of spoken language or with a wide range of accents and tonal qualities. Making sense out of human discourse, says Dataquest Analyst Kenneth Lim, "is quite possibly the most difficult thing for a computer to do, other than actually thinking."

But computers, and their designers, are rising to the challenge. Hundreds of office and factory workers are already using simple voice-control computer systems to do everything from dialing telephones to controlling assembly lines. At Chicago's O'Hare Airport, for example, United Airlines baggage handlers call out the names of airports as they toss suitcases on a computer- driven conveyor belt. A voice-recognition system, responding to their commands, dumps each piece of luggage into a tray marked for the appropriate airport and sends it rolling toward its destination.

At California's Edwards Air Force Base, a more sophisticated system is being readied for use by test pilots who this fall will fly F-16 jets with voice- control equipment through simulated air and ground attacks. Rather than punching keys and flipping switches, pilots will bark out orders like "Arm the missiles!" Computers will then do the work, leaving the airmen free to concentrate on their targets.

Detroit, which has been producing talking cars for several years ("Your fuel is low"), is now testing models that listen. Several automakers have built experimental cars equipped with voice-activated door locks, starters and windshield wipers. Says Jerry Rivard, a chief engineer at Ford: "The technology is here today."