Recently, I got to volunteer my time to speak to a group of middle school students at Hubert O. Sibley K-8 Academy. It was a Teach-a-Thon initiative led by The Education Fund.
I decided to talk to them about "The Power of Voice Technology". Juggling my tech career and running Key2MIA, I finally got to share what voice technology really means to me. These ids were so engaged from the start. They had your girl feeling great!
They have a pretty in-depth definition of what AI is, how it shows up in our day to day, and even gave me all the tea on deepfakes. I was so impressed with their level of knowledge, but they were more impressed to learn about my colleague who worked on creating Alexa.
I literally could have ended the presentation there. But if I ended at Alexa, I wouldn't have had a chance to see them in action determining what voice samples were real and which ones were AI.
They stood ten toes down (collectively) on their decisions too...and they were right!
They learned about my AI tour guide, Joya, then got to create audio content on their own using an AI voice in WellSaid Studio.
Their questions reminded me of why I started in tech: curiosity and possibility. The also reminded me of what I made it my mission to celebrate culture and community through tourism: There's not just power in voice technology, there's power in our voices.
I hope this experience leaves a lasting impact with them and they remember that the future - tech and all- is theirs, and their voices will help shape it.
You can support these kids through donations! No amount is too small and funds raised go back into their classroom and The Education Fund programs that benefit teachers and students.
Thanks Mr. Forero, Hubert O. Sibley and The Education Fund for an amazing experience!
Comments