Facebook to pay users for recording to improve speech recognition

Although one user will be able to make only $5, this is an interesting approach by Facebook to improve its artificial intelligence-driven transcription skills.

The logo for Facebook at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York’s Times Square.

Facebook has announced it will pay select users who agree to record their voice to improve its speech recognition technology.

The social networking giant will pay select users to record snippets of audio through a new programme called “Pronunciations” in its Viewpoints market research app, according to The Verge.

If you qualify to be part of the programme, you’ll be able to record the phrase “Hey Portal,” followed by the first name of a friend from your friends list.

“You’ll be able to do this with the names of up to 10 friends, and you have to record each statement twice,” the report said on Thursday.

The Facebook announcement comes at a time when several tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google have paused their audio transcription programmes after reports emerged that third-party contractors were listening to audio recordings.

Amazon now lets users opt-out of audio recording “review.”

Although one user will be able to make only $5, this is an interesting approach by Facebook to improve its artificial intelligence-driven transcription skills.