Speech Genie
Speech Genie
For 30 years John Ball, a computer scientist and cognitive scientist, researched the challenge of what it would take to have digital machines understand and communicate with human language the same way that humans do.
After a collaboration with Artificial Intelligence legend Marvin Minsky, John had a massive breakthrough! He came to the realization that if we want digital machines that can understand and produce language like humans do, they must be able to handle language in the same way as humans do.
His research progressed relentlessly toward the missing piece - a linguistic framework that provides the blueprint for the way the world's languages work! It is called Role and Reference Grammar (RRG), and it focuses on the KEY to all language use – meaning.
Thanks to cognitive science, he could now emulate human language on machines by using PATTERNS that, in turn represent MEANING. It was clear to John that digital computers could also derive MEANING in context, mimicking how the human brain does it.
Based on this insight about patterns and meaning, John has now developed and built out working prototypes of digital computers understanding and manipulating language in ways that today's AI and large language models based on statistics CAN NEVER DO.
The next step in the evolution of John’s technology is to apply it to solving real life problems of various sorts. The most attractive pathway is to use this technology in creating language learning products with full interactivity between the learner and the system, therefore training learners not just in recognition of new language, but also the PRODUCTION of language that can be understood.
ONLY with a digital system that can fully understand MEANING can this result be achieved.
John’s collaboration with Chris Lonsdale will create a totally new and advanced technology for second language learning that will bring about a fundamental transformation globally in how languages are learned!
Speech Genie