Speech Recognition Software: A I Gone Wrong!

Being the inquisitive type, I am intrigued by speech recognition software. The television commercials make it look so easy to use speech recognition software in your daily life. You can issue commands to your computer and now even your smart phone making it smarter. But one has to remember that this is the magic of television; things aren’t what they appear.

Speech Recognition Purchase Options

The Dragon speech recognition software is rated very high in reviews. The commercials make it appear easy to dictate a novel or term paper so who wouldn’t want to give it a try. Not knowing how much of a financial investment I was about to commit to, I began my research on the web.

Understanding “you pay for what you get” I wasn’t surprised to learn the latest version of Dragon speech recognition software was going to set me back a couple of hundred dollars. Immediately, my mind started creating a plan to save money so I could purchase this “wonder of wonders” of speech recognition software.

Naturally, being money conscious I continued my search to find the Dragon speech recognition software at a lower cost. Yes, it was available cheaper but only for the older versions. No, I wanted the latest and the greatest speech recognition software that was out on the market. That was until my eye wondered on a review of other speech recognition software.

Those of you who are “tech” smart are probably already aware of what information I am going to share next: Windows 7 has speech recognition software installed on computers! Well, I have a laptop with Windows 7 installed. So you mean I already have speech recognition software installed on my computer? I could have been dictating articles, and stories, and poems, and hate mail, well maybe not hate mail, all these months? And I don’t have to spend additional money? Life just got grand!

A. I. Gone Wrong

Locating the speech recognition software was a breeze on my computer. I clicked the Window’s Start button and typed “speech recognition” into the search box. Voila! It popped up without any hassle at all. To make learning easy the software comes with a tutorial to ease you into using speech recognition. By speaking clearly and using correct diction you should be able to master and easily use the speech recognition software. This after you train your computer.

What? Train my computer? What does that mean? ! It means I have to get my speech recognition software to get use to the sound of my voice. The more often I use the speech recognition software to take dictation the more “accurate” it will dictate. Does anyone else see where this could go horribly wrong?

If I wanted to train something I would get a pet. I don’t feel I have the personality to train a live creation much less an artificial intelligence. It has been only 24 hours and I am frustrated at the information being displayed on Wordpad. I am loosing my patience since the speech recognition software would rather display “come on” when I distinctly said “upon”. Not only am I frustrated but I am beginning to sense hostility from the A.I speech recognition software as it continually flashes “What is that?” at me.

I am typing this article the old-fashion way, with my fingers. My thoughts on speech recognition software are being displayed correctly, accurately, and I am feeling my frustration level go down. Have I abandoned the speech recognition software completely? No, not at all. I just think we both need some quiet time before we begin “training sessions” again.

Share your experience with speech recognition software in the comment section. I need all the encouragement I can get. 

Read more from this author at Surviving Life as a Woman.com.