Speech technology has come a long way and is doing more than just setting timers or asking about the weather. For older adults and neurodivergent people, these tools are opening up new ways to communicate, navigate life and feel included in everyday conversations (Baran, 2022). Voice recognition and speech-to-text have come a long way but the real magic happens in the lives of those who need it most. What used to be a challenge like typing a message or filling out a form can now be done by just talking into your phone. That level of independence matters to some people. Speech technology allows people to navigate their devices better, write emails and share their thoughts without having to type. With the help of AI, speech tools are starting to change how people create products and making accessibility a top priority.
I’ve seen how tools like Google Live Transcribe and Apple Voice Control give people real-time access to conversations and help with tasks we take for granted (Tate, 2018). When added to closed captions they create an environment where more people feel seen and heard. For someone who struggles with typing or reading quickly being able to hear or speak my thoughts aloud without extra barriers is a game-changer. I can work and edit my work on my own. For people with disabilities it can greatly impact daily life. One of the newer tools in this space is something called SpeechMatch. It’s being tested in healthcare to match patients with doctors or care providers based on how they naturally communicate (Lennard et al., 2024). So if someone speaks slowly or uses pauses because of cognitive or sensory differences they’re more likely to be paired with someone who communicates in a similar way. It’s already being used with older adults and young patients with autism and it’s building stronger more respectful conversations between patients and providers.
For neurodivergent individuals and the elderly, being able to use tools like this can really improve their quality of life and interactions with those around them. Watch the snippet to better understand (Smith, 2023).
Overall, I think all of this shows how people are starting to expect more from the technology around them. Accessibility isn’t an afterthought anymore. People want tools that meet them where they are, not ones that require them to change how they interact with the world (Moore et al., 2022). That’s encouraging to me because it shows we’re not just building faster or smarter tools, but we’re building ones that are more human-centered (Wilkins et al., 2021). And for someone who sees tech as a way to bring people together, that’s the kind of progress that really means something.
References
Baran, S. J. (2022). Introduction to mass communication: 2024 release. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Google. (2019, May 7). Google Live Transcribe demo - real-time speech-to-text transcription [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl0VW8xn1fY
Lennard, D., Afolabi, S., & Zhang, Q. (2024). SpeechMatch and patient-centered care: Matching communication styles in clinical settings. Journal of Health Technology & Ethics, 12(1), 22–39.
Moore, R. L., Murray, M. D., & Youm, K. H. (2022). Media law and ethics (6th ed.). Taylor & Francis.
Smith, C. (2023, November 10). AI for neurodiverse minds [Video]. TEDx, YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@Wrenasmir
Tate, M. A. (2018). Web wisdom (3rd ed.). Taylor & Francis. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781351385671
Wilkins, L., Painter, C., & Patterson, P. (2021). Media ethics: Issues and cases (10th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.
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