The Speculist

Computer Talk

In our discussion last week, John Smart had this to say about significant developments which need to occur before the most profound benefits of information technology can present themselves:

[D]eveloping cheap, fat data pipes, both wired and wireless, and a growing set of useful Linguistic User Interfaces (LUIs) are obvious candidates for our nation's greatest near term ICT developmental challenges. Just like the transcontinental railroad was a great goal of the late 1800's, getting affordable broadband to everyone in this country by 2010, and a first generation LUI by 2015 appear to be the greatest unsung goals of our generation. Now we just need our national, international, and institutional leaders to start singing this song, in unison.

Your father used a TUI (text-based user interface). You use a GUI (graphical user interface). Your kid will primarily use a LUI (voice-driven interface) to speak to the computers embedded in every technology in her environment. She'll continue to use TUIs and GUIs, but only secondarily, not for her typical, average interaction with a machine. Your grandchildren will use a NUI (neural user interface), a biologically-inspired, self-improving, very impressive set of machines.

One of the fundamental component technologies required to develop an LUI is Natural Language Processing (NLP). Via Kurzweil, we have news that NLP technology has just become a lot more easily accessible:

Zhang Le, a Chinese scientist working on natural language processing, packed the most important language-analysis and processing applications into a single Linux-based bootable CD: Morphix-NLP.

The CD includes language-parsing systems (such as part-of-speech taggers), machine learning tools, and a software-based speech synthesizer.

As predicted, developments in this field are heating up. And, as suspected, progress seems to be occuring outside of the US.