Now You're Talking: Human Conversation from the Neanderthals to Artificial Intelligence

Cox, Trevor

ISBN 10: 1847924263 / ISBN 13: 9781847924261

Published by Bodley Head, 2018

About this Item

Seller Inventory # E-9781847924261-6-2

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Now You're Talking: Human Conversation from the Neanderthals to Artificial Intelligence
• Publisher: Bodley Head
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1847924263
• ISBN 13: 9781847924261
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Very good

About this title

Synopsis

Being able to speak is what makes us human.

If you’ve ever felt the shock of listening to a recording of your own voice, you realise how important your voice is to your personal identity. We judge others – and whether we trust them – not just by their words but by the way they talk: their intonation, their pitch, their accent.

Now You’re Talking explores the full range of our voice – how we speak and how we sing; how our vocal anatomy works; what happens when things go wrong; and how technology enables us to imitate and manipulate the human voice. Trevor Cox talks to vocal coaches who help people to develop their new voice after a gender change; to record producers whose use of technology has transformed the singing voice; and to computer scientists who replicate the human voice in their development of Artificial Intelligence.

Beginning with the Neanderthals, Now You’re Talking takes us all the way to the digital age – with the frightening prospect that we may soon hear ‘unexpected item in the bagging area’ more frequently than a friendly ‘Hello, how are you?’ in the street.

About the Author

Trevor Cox is Professor of Acoustic Engineering at the University of Salford. He has presented numerous science radio documentaries and his previous book, Sonic Wonderland: A Scientific Odyssey of Sound, was published to great acclaim in 2014.