The conference will focus on inclusivity in spoken language technology in keeping with ADAPT’s larger research vision of working towards a balanced digital society
INTERSPEECH, the world’s largest and most comprehensive conference on the science and technology of spoken language processing, will be held at the Convention Centre of Dublin from August 20th to 24th, 2023. The conference will be hosted by the ADAPT Centre, the world-leading SFI Research Centre for Digital Content Technology. ADAPT’s Principal Investigators (PIs), Prof Naomi Harte, Prof Julie Carson-Berndsen and Prof Gareth Jones, will be the General Chairs of the event.
The theme of the 24th INTERSPEECH Spoken Language Technology Conference is – ‘Inclusive Spoken Language Science and Technology – Breaking Down Barriers’. By focusing on inclusivity, the aim of the conference is to ask researchers to recognise the challenge of variability in human speech/language, and consequently create work that’s relevant for the widest possible range of users. The diversity in human speech and language is remarkable, with no two voices sounding the same, either due to differences in gender, age, accents, among other idiosyncrasies. With over 6000 different languages in the world today, speech pathologies are one of the biggest barriers to speech technology, and could also significantly contribute to digital exclusion of people/communities, if left unaddressed.
Theme of Inclusion
INTERSPEECH 2023 wants researchers to pause and think about inclusion. Is an algorithm, system, experiment, or discovery, useful for as wide a range of speech or speakers as possible? If the dataset has all native speakers of a language, can it be extended to non-native speakers? If the performance of a system is demonstrated on an English language dataset, can it work for Spanish, Chinese, or Hindi users? Do research findings about adult speech include older speakers, or what are the limits, and why? If overall percentage performance figures are quoted in one particular research finding, can those be broken down for gender, by age, or other demographics?
The theme of inclusion embraces the human side of speech communication, as well as the technological side of it. As a result, the conference will touch upon both the algorithmic aspects as well as the importance of including human core language knowledge, with a special focus on Irish activities in this space.
Inclusion is also a key focus for ADAPT when it comes to its research agenda around speech and language technology. This focus comes from the larger vision of the Centre to work towards a balanced digital society. Thus, research discussed at the conference will aim to empower collaborators in academia and industry to lead on ground-breaking innovations, and access vital tools, standards, and expertise that help make a positive difference in the area of speech technology, and the world.
The conference is currently calling proposals for special sessions/challenges, the details of which are available on the website. Call for papers and events/workshops will also be open in the upcoming months, the complete schedule of which is also available on the website here. ADAPT is delighted to host this next INTERSPEECH conference and trusts its leading academics to put the focus on Ireland for ground-breaking research in this area.
More about the conference General Chairs, Prof Naomi Harte, Prof Julie Carson-Berndsen and Prof Gareth Jones.
