The Voicebot Chronicles: An Interactive Storytelling Experience From KQED
These days we talk to a wide array of inanimate objects — our phones, our computers, just about anything with the word “smart” in front of it.
Talking to a machine that talks back is more common than ever, but using our voice reveals things about ourselves in a way we are only just starting to understand.
If you’ve ever felt misunderstood by one of these voice technologies (commonly known as “voicebots”) you are not alone. In fact, it may even bring up some questions: How well do we really want to be understood by machines; and how well do they have to know us in order to understand what we want?
The Voicebot Chronicles is an experiment brought to life by KQED producers, reporters, and audio engineers. You might think of it as an interactive podcast. It features both in-depth reporting and interactivity, and can be experienced using Alexa or Google Assistant.
The Voicebot Chronicles takes a slightly different approach to interactive storytelling because voicebots are very personal; so what might be true for you, is not the same for everyone. How much are we willing to reveal to our voicebots? Would you lie to them? How much do we really want a voicebot to know about us? You don’t just listen to The Voicebot Chronicles, you also are a part of it.
The stories that are told within each episode explore a different angle on being understood. In this first episode of the series, KQED reporter, Chloe Veltman, interviews Dimitri Kanevsky, a research scientist at Google, who lost his hearing at a young age and creates speech recognition technology to enable conversations for the deaf or hard of hearing. Then, you get to test the voicebot’s ability to understand you when you speak challenging words. Learn what it takes to have a good conversation when Chloe interviews Kathy Pearl, Head of Conversation Design Outreach at Google. Then test it out by having your own conversation with your voicebot.
Throughout the experience, The Voicebot Chronicles encourages us to reflect on how well we are all understood, and not just by the speaker sitting on your table.
To experience the The Voicebot Chronicles on Alexa, say “Alexa, open The Voicebot Chronicles.” You can also find it here on the Amazon Marketplace.
On Google Assistant, say “Hey Google, talk to The Voicebot Chronicles” or here on the Google Assistant directory.
The Voicebot Chronicles was created inside the KQED newsroom; a unique blend of storytelling, reporting and interactivity. It is a story about voice, navigated with your voice. Inviting listeners to be a part of the story creates a more engaged and immersive experience, and gives users the ability to empathize with subject matter in a more personal, meaningful way. The Voicebot Chronicles pushes on the bounds of voice interactivity, while building off of KQED’s foundation of reporting excellence and immersive audio storytelling.
