As an assistive technology specialist, speech control of computer and mobile devices is one of the services that I have been called upon most frequently to implement and train people on. The most high-profile solution is Dragon Dictation software by Nuance.
However, there are some exciting developments in a couple free programs, particularly in their ability to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) in ‘real time:’ WhisperTyping and Whispering. And the best part is, both programs are free.
WhisperTyping – Excellent Dictation is Only the Beginning
WhisperTyping is currently available for Windows only (10/11), and bills itself as the “ultra-accurate dictation software that really saves time.” It is currently free, and all that is required is that you download and install an executable file on your computer to install the app.
Anyone who has used Dragon or other dictation software will understand that being able to speak is much faster than typing, but correcting errors, formatting text, and things like that can steal back the time you saved
What is so exciting about WhisperTyping is the AI integration to the “rewrite mode,” which allows you to give it complex verbal command which it will then execute. An example is that you can highlight a section (perhaps a list of items separated by commas) and say something like “rewrite that by putting each item into its own bullet, with the first word of each bullet capitalized and a period at the end of each bullet.” The app executes the command flawlessly, and those of us who program Dragon commands “one step at a time” realize the potential immediate improvement the AI brings.
WhisperTyping Translation
Taking the AI integration to the next level, you can dictate into the app, “Write me a message in Spanish that says ‘Hi Juan, I am looking forward to having a drink with you on Wednesday.” And, like magic it will translate your message – a godsend for global teams! Curently, WhisperTyping supports over 50 languages.
On the WhisperTyping website, the demo video takes the AI capabilities further by instructing the app to create a “shopping list for pancake ingredients,” which the intelligent app can do. Then the demo user takes it a step further by having the shopping list be organized by store department, and with emojis added “for fun.” There’s also a demo of the many computer hardware controls you can access with WhisperTyping – you can run virtually any program.
Epicenter’s Whispering Program
The Whispering Program from Epicenter, is a little more labor intensive to set up: starting here, you will need to set up a free Groq account to obtain an API key. The developer made Whispering with the belief that productivity tools should be open source and transparent.
Whispering has a lot of flexibility. It saves all of your transcriptions and transformations (ie what corrections have been made) into an easy-to-navigated history that allows you to copy or download them at a later time. Just like WhisperTyping, Whispering is designed to control your computer programs as well, most easily by connecting verbal commands to keyboard shortcuts. Then, there’s a voice activated mode that just records and transcribes whatever you say into the Whispering program without interfering with whatever application you are working with on your computer.
AI Continues to “Change the Game” Exponentially
In the last 2-3 years of working in assistive technology, we have seen more incredible advancements and developments in this field than in the previous decade combined. And I must credit artificial intelligence for these advancements, and of course the technology which is keeping pace and allowing computing to happen ever more quickly and in ever-shrinking devices.
About the Author
Doug Lear is an Assistive Technology Specialist at Northwest Ergonomics & Assistive Technology, which is located throughout Oregon, Washington, and the Pacific Northwest. Although Doug has worked for over 20 years in vocational rehabilitation, his passion lies in Assistive Technology. Doug enjoys working with technology, but most of all, he enjoys helping people.
