Block’s new voice model sounds eerily human
Block has introduced 'Dessa,' a new full-duplex voice AI model trained entirely on human speech to mimic natural conversational nuances like laughter and pauses. The company claims this model avoids the unnatural robotic quality of text-to-speech systems by processing emotion directly.
Why it matters
Advancements in natural-sounding, full-duplex AI voice models could significantly change human-computer interaction, making AI assistants feel more authentic and emotionally responsive.
Jack Dorsey’s Block released a new voice model out of the company’s research lab that runs locally and sounds strangely human with its expressions like laughs, pauses, and cries. The company said the model, called Dessa, is trained fully on human speech and a single NVIDIA GPU.
Dessa is a full-duplex model, which means it can talk and listen at the same time, just like the GPT-Live model OpenAI released earlier this year . Typically, speech models are paired with a large language model for knowledge retrieval. Block said that Dessa’s knowledge stems from the conversational data it has.
We believe voice is the most natural way to interact with intelligence, so we created Dessa, the most authentic full-duplex speech model ever built. Talking with it feels like talking with a person…full of emotion, nuance, pauses, and a natural cadence. https://t.co/r0qFLdvd6c
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in