Federal Support for the Development of Speech Synthesis Technologies: A Case Study of the Kurzweil Reading Machine

IF 0.6 4区 管理学 Q1 HISTORY
S. Bell
{"title":"Federal Support for the Development of Speech Synthesis Technologies: A Case Study of the Kurzweil Reading Machine","authors":"S. Bell","doi":"10.7560/ic58103","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"abstract:This case study situates an early text-to-speech computer developed for blind persons, the Kurzweil Reading Machine (KRM), within a broader history of speech synthesis technologies. Though typically no more than a footnote in the technical history of speech synthesis, the KRM was still a powerful symbol of innovation that reveals how disability can be used as a pretext for funding technology development. I argue that various boosters held the KRM up as a symbol of technological solutionism that promised to fully enroll blind people into the US political economy. However, the success of the KRM as a symbol belies its technical flaws, the federal subsidies needed to bring it to fruition, and the structural barriers to its use that were elided by its utopian promise.","PeriodicalId":42337,"journal":{"name":"Information & Culture","volume":"58 1","pages":"39 - 65"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6000,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Information & Culture","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.7560/ic58103","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HISTORY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

abstract:This case study situates an early text-to-speech computer developed for blind persons, the Kurzweil Reading Machine (KRM), within a broader history of speech synthesis technologies. Though typically no more than a footnote in the technical history of speech synthesis, the KRM was still a powerful symbol of innovation that reveals how disability can be used as a pretext for funding technology development. I argue that various boosters held the KRM up as a symbol of technological solutionism that promised to fully enroll blind people into the US political economy. However, the success of the KRM as a symbol belies its technical flaws, the federal subsidies needed to bring it to fruition, and the structural barriers to its use that were elided by its utopian promise.
联邦政府对语音合成技术发展的支持:以库兹韦尔阅读机为例
本案例研究将早期为盲人开发的文本转语音计算机库兹韦尔阅读机(Kurzweil Reading Machine, KRM)置于更广泛的语音合成技术历史中。虽然KRM在语音合成技术史上通常不过是一个注脚,但它仍然是一个强有力的创新象征,它揭示了残疾如何被用作资助技术开发的借口。我认为,各种支持者将KRM视为技术解决方案主义的象征,承诺将盲人完全纳入美国政治经济。然而,KRM作为一个象征的成功掩盖了它的技术缺陷,实现它所需的联邦补贴,以及使用它的结构性障碍,而这些障碍被它的乌托邦承诺所忽略。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
CiteScore
0.80
自引率
16.70%
发文量
18
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信