Episode description

Jon is the leader of the Open Voice Network, an organization that seeks to create a future of AI voice that is standards-based, interoperable, accessible, and data protected. While the voice movement is growing rapidly, it is still very much in a fledgling state. This makes the task of setting up governance and standards in the space highly relevant, and one which Jon is working hard to address.

In today’s episode, we talk about why we need a network like OVN at all, and what happens if we don’t create such an organization. Jon explains why he is focusing on shopping and retail in particular. He dives into how this category of the market presents a research case that raises many of the relevant issues arising by the introduction of voice technology into a particular field.

We cover conflicts of interest and groupthink too; between users, developers, enterprises, platform companies, and thought leaders, there are clearly many voices with different vested interests in what the standards look like and who they benefit. We hear about the five main areas which the research at OVN will focus on.

Our conversation also covers some of the ethical issues raised by just how much data can be captured in a moment in which a customer’s voice gets recorded, and how standardization can address the responsibility this places the company which hears it in. In the bonus questions for Pro listeners, Jon reflects on his storied career in technology, and what led him to launch the Open Voice Network.

Voice will no doubt revolutionize the future of how we interact with tech, and standardization is at the center of this process, so tune in to hear exactly why that is.

Highlights