I spoke to the AI avatar of a Leeds MP. How did it cope with my Yorkshire accent?
by Robyn Vinter North of England correspondent from Technology | The Guardian on (#6Z63E)
Leeds MP Mark Sewards has launched a digital assistant, but the results of my chat show MPs' aides have nowt to worry about
As anyone with even a trace of a regional dialect who has had to pay a parking fine can attest, voice recognition services struggle with accents. Now, people in Mark Sewards' constituency in Leeds are likely to find the same problem with his AI variant.
A chatbot billed as the first AI version of an MP responds in Sewards' voice with advice, support or by offering to pass on a message to his team - but only if it understands you.
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