“Voice biomarker” tech analyzes your voice for signs of depression
Software that analyzes snippets of your speech to identify mental health problems is rapidly making its way into call centers, medical clinics and telehealth platforms. The idea is to detect illnesses that might otherwise go untreated.
But its growing ubiquity raises privacy concerns similar to those brought about by facial recognition. Skepticism and ethical questions surround voice biomarker tech, which observers describe as promising but not foolproof — and ripe for potential misuse.
One risk is that the systems may increase systemic biases towards people from specific regions, backgrounds, or with a specific accent. Some research also suggests that the ability of AI to identify vocal biomarkers is often oversold, or else glosses over the highly subjective processes involved in building these systems.
Source: “Voice biomarker” tech analyzes your voice for signs of depression
