Voice to Text

A new article on Technology Review discussed the upcoming Google Chrome browser version that will be able to translate voice into text entirely on the Internet.

The article notes that there are still many problems getting the software to work reliably and not turn sentences into random jumbles of letters, but the browser is also in its early beta stage where bugs are ironed out and refinements are made.

The applications for journalists in all of this are endless. Many phones already have considerable support for voice commands and recognition, but an actual web browser capable of doing so means that any access to the Internet means a journalist can dictate entire portions of a story or notes on the fly.

Reporters might not have to glance down when taking notes and can instead focus all of their attention on the events happening in front of them. Computers might be able to transpose speeches for them.

At any rate, technology like this can be a real game changer for everyone involved, and journalists will have to keep an eye open to make sure it doesn't take them by surprise.

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