“It Talks!” a very brief history of voice synthesis

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 1 “human voice” one of the oldest organ stops

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 2 When?  We don’t know, but  organ-like instrument 3rd-century BCE  programmable automatic instruments in 9th-century Baghdad reconstruction of automated reed instrument

hydraulis, 1st-century BCE Dion, Greece photo: QuartierLatin1968 Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 3 The Captain’s Parrot & the Magician

“Captain Birdseye”

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 4 Pope Sylvester II (999-1003)

said to have had a “brazen head” that could answer questions yes or no

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 5 Alexander Graham Bell (& Trouve)

“How are you grandmamma?

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 6 Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 7 Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 8 18th & 19th Centuries

part of Charles Wheatstone’s version of Wolfgang von Kempelen’s talking machine

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 9 Joseph Faber’s Euphonia

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 10 Electronics: Initially Not for Synthesis

“” 1940 Homer Dudley, "The Carrier Nature of Speech" version Bell System Technical Journal, October 1940

images courtesy of Archive

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 11 But There Were World’s Fairs in 1939

“vocoder” “” Homer Dudley, "The Carrier Nature of Speech" Bell System Technical Journal, October 1940

images courtesy of Bell Labs Archive

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 12 Speech Manually Synthesized

“voder” (also known as Pedro)

images courtesy of Bell Labs Archive

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 13 Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 14 AI Gone Bad: “I’m Sorry, Dave.”

HAL 9000 eye from 2001: a

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 15 HAL Regresses As It Loses Its Mind

from 2001: a space odyssey

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 16 Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 17 IBM 704

1 hr. to output 17 sec.

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 18 IBM 704

1 hr. to output 17 sec.

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 19 1990 Duet with Perry Cook’s “Sheila”

http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~prc/SingingSynth.html used with permission

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 20 The New York Times April 9, 1975

photo courtesy of Bell Labs Archive

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 21 Voder Singing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hyI_dM5cGo&t=207s

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 22 Voder Talking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hyI_dM5cGo&t=207s

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 23 Now You Know

these slides at bit.ly/hpa18-voice

Mark Schubin, HPA Tech Retreat, 2018 February 23 24