What makes Voice First special for older adults? This blog has discussed the emergence of Voice First technology -- speech-enabled interactions with technology -- on multiple occasions. But this occasion is different -- it marks the publication of a research effort and resulting report linked here called The Future of Voice First Technology and Older Adults 2018. Today's blog post offers a short excerpt of key differences between Voice First technology and prior tech generations that apply to all users – but are unique for seniors -- future research will continue to explore that uniqueness. So what has inspired multiple organizations, including Benchmark Senior Living and Carlsbad by the Sea, to begin their programs? They see that while Voice First technology is an early market with some (noted) limitations, it also represents, unlike prior technology generations, benefits for users. For users and tech managers, Voice First is:
A new trend has emerged, pushing leading edge software developers to shift from mobile first to "voice first." Voice First refers to applications and services that people control primarily by speaking, leveraging the latest developments in Natural Language Processing (NLP). In this report, we use the term Voice First to identify this emerging category of voice-controlled devices, applications or services. Older adults, caregivers, and service providers quickly recognized the power of Voice First and the advantages that voice-driven applications have over both desktop and mobile versions.
What makes Voice First special for older adults? This blog has discussed the 