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Google makes it easier to find local news through Podcasts and Assistant

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Facebook Cash Out Announced for Users Who Record Short Audio Clips

Facebook Cash Out

Here is something that may interest many people. Facebook is going to pay people to record audio clips via a program called Pronunciations. Participants can earn close to $5, thanks to Facebook cash out. It definitely is not a lot of money. However, it seems like a rather amusing way to make a small change, while also helping Facebook to improve its speech recognition technology. 

Here is how to avail of Facebook cash out

  • Facebook will first recruit users via surveys. The company plans to hold these surveys on Viewpoints, its market research app. 
  • Those who qualify in the initial survey will need to utter the phrase “Hey Portal”. Soon after a participant utters “Hey Portal”, they should also say the name of a friend in their friend list. 
  • Those who decide to participate will have to say “Hey Portal + (Friend’s name)” at least ten times. Each time, the name should be different. This fetches the participants 200 points. 
  • To cash out $5, a user will have to accumulate 1,000 points. 

Facebook cash out will not make anyone rich

Of course, nobody is going to get rich with this kind of money or cashouts. This is a curious experiment that might help Facebook to improve its artificial intelligence transcription skills. It is also an ethical decision. Facebook has often been hounded by critics for using data without permission to improve its products and services. This survey explicitly seeks permission from users for their voices to be used in research. In addition, Facebook will also pay them for it, no matter how small the amount is. 

What are the competitors doing?

Apple and Amazon have had similar programs in the past, while Google has temporarily paused it. Amazon allows participants to opt-out of its audio transcription program, while Google may come up with something similar to Facebook. Competitors will not remain silent and may offer incentives to users if they participate as well. It might actually be a step in the right direction, as data will be collected with consent, and used only for the stated purpose. 

Most importantly, one will have the satisfaction of having contributed something to the development of technology. Artificial intelligence and speech recognition are important fields that have significant ramifications in almost all fields, including healthcare. 

The post Facebook Cash Out Announced for Users Who Record Short Audio Clips appeared first on Walyou.

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Amazon bringing Voice Guide and Explore by Touch features to Kindle Fires for vision-impaired users (update)

Amazon bringing Voice Guide and Explore by Touch features to Kindle Fires for visionimpaired users

Amazon's been attuned to the needs of its vision-impaired customers for years, first rolling out text-to-speech technology on its original Kindle e-reader years ago. Today the company revealed plans to add to that feature set in its Kindle Fire and Fire HD (7-inch) tablets with Voice Guide and Explore by Touch technology.

Voice Guide's an improvement upon regular text-to-speech tech that reads aloud any action performed by users -- things like announcing app names and book titles when they're selected. Explore by Touch lets folks swipe their fingers across their Fire's display and identifies each onscreen item as their phalanges pass over them. Once aware of what app or piece of content's being touched, a simple tap opens the item. Ready for the new assisted navigation experience right now? Well, all you anxious Fire owners will have to wait, the update doesn't land until early next year.

Update: The good folks at Amazon reached out to let us know that the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 already has both Explore by Touch and Voice Guide.

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Source: Amazon