Fascinating piece in this weeks New Scientist about scientists at IBMs spoken web initiative.
The article is worth reading in full. For those without a subscription the precis is as follows. Scientists at the IBM India Research Laboratory undertook a piece of research investigating levels of technological usage across India. They found that access to the traditional, text based web was severely imited for two reasons – Firstly, the penetration of internet enabled devices was minimal. Secondly, even if they did have access the information was inappropriate for them because they cannot read or write, or it was irrelevant to their needs.
The answer, says Tapan Parikh of the University of California, Berkeley, is speech. “An audio format would provide much more access and opportunity for local people to contribute,” he says. “While a farmer may not be able to write a memo, or an email, or a summary of his work, he can easily talk about it.”
So IBM have developed the concept of a VoiceSite – Which is conceptually the same as a website, but the information is recorded as short audio pieces rather than text.
Say a plumber wants new customers. First he calls a number and software called VoiGen then guides him, in his local language, through the process of setting up a VoiceSite. Relevant information, such as a welcome greeting and the plumber’s contact details are recorded. Behind the scenes, the VoiGen system then creates a VoiceSite. A phone number, analogous to a URL, is then assigned to the plumber.
Anyone who calls the plumber’s VoiceSite number is greeted with his welcome message, and then given help to navigate the information. For example, the caller can say “address” to hear the plumber’s address, or “appointment” to request a call-out with him.
These VoiceSites can be created by ordinary people using the simpleset available handsets – There are over 300 Million people in India with such handsets, so the network effects could be massive if the idea catches on.
I have always supported the MIT One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative, and it is good to read reports of their recent successes in countries such as Columbia.
It does seem that the two initiatives represent very divergent ways of using technology to leverage the benefits of networks in the developing world. OLPC are seeking to introduce a new technology, whilst VoiceSites seek to leverage technology already widely distributed and understood.
It will be interesting to track the uptake and impact of both.
