Giving Voice to Emotion: Voice Analysis Technology Uncovering Mental States is Playing a Growing Role in Medicine, Business, and Law Enforcement

It's tough to imagine anything more frustrating than interacting with a call center. Generally, people don't reach out to call centers when they're happy-they're usually trying to get help with a problem or gearing up to do battle over a billing error. Add in an automatic phone tree, and you have a recipe for annoyance. But what if that robotic voice offering you a smorgasbord of numbered choices could tell that you were frustrated and then funnel you to an actual human being? This type of voice analysis technology exists, and it's just one example of the many ways that computers can use your voice to extract information about your mental and emotional state-including information you may not think of as being accessible through your voice alone.