The Case for Speech Technology for Developing Regions

Many ICT initiatives that attempt to connect end-users to each other rely on Internet-connected PCs using graphical user interfaces (GUIs). While speech-based systems over the telephone have mushroomed in the West in the past decade, their potential remains largely untapped for use in the developing world. We present reasons why speech systems may be preferable to traditional PC/GUI systems in these circumstances, along with the needs such systems can fulfill.