Meta Patents an AI That Analyzes Emotions from Your Voice Around the Clock

Meta has filed a patent application for an artificial intelligence technology capable of analyzing a person's emotional state from their voice throughout the entire day.

How it works

According to the description in the application, the system listens to the user's speech and, based on tone, tempo and other characteristics of the sound, draws a conclusion about how they are feeling at that moment. Each such “reading” of the emotional state is recorded and tied to a specific moment: it notes the time, the user's location, what they were doing, and even how they were using their smartphone at that instant.

The result is a detailed, timestamped log reflecting a person's emotional fluctuations over the course of the day, tied to their actions and circumstances.

Possible implementations

The patent application describes several possible ways the system could operate. Some versions assume continuous listening throughout the entire day, while others involve a more limited data-collection mode.

Context

The mere fact that a patent application has been filed does not mean the technology will be realized as a specific product — companies often patent developments that never reach the market. Nevertheless, the very concept of a system able to track a user's emotional state by voice around the clock, tied to geolocation and the context of device usage, raises questions about the limits of personal data collection and user privacy.

Source: The Hacker News