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Digital World

Face and Voice - The Power of Our First Impression

September 21, 2022

Friend or foe? In a fraction of a second, our brain forms an impression of a person based on their facial expressions and voice. And artificial intelligence is getting better and better at interpreting human emotions.

https://p.dw.com/p/4Fj3W
Videostill Dokumentation | Die Magie von Gesicht und Stimme
Image: NewDocs
Videostill Dokumentation | Die Magie von Gesicht und Stimme
Image: NewDocs


Faces and voices are the first impressions we get of people we don’t know. In less than half a second, we decide whether we like or trust a person, and how intelligent we think they are. That’s thanks to the astonishing processing power of our brains.

Symbolbild ältere Frau Kind Urlaub
Image: picture-alliance/Bildagentur-online/Tetra Images



We learn to read facial expressions as babies, and as we grow older we continue to interpret emotions according to facial expressions. The voice also plays a crucial role: speed, syntax, tone, and phonetics all provide information about what a person is feeling. 
 

KI und Gesichtserkennung
Image: Imago Images/H. Lucas


But we are not the only ones who can decipher human emotions. Artificial intelligence technology is also learning to read faces and voices. A photo or a spoken sentence is usually enough to get information about identity, health, emotions and even personality.
 

Symbolbild Sprachnachricht
Image: PantherMedia/picture alliance

And the internet has become a vast and ever-growing database of faces and voices. Based on the sound of a voice, artificial intelligence can now detect whether a person suffers from Parkinson's, depression or even Covid-19. In this documentary, international experts offer insight into the latest science, illuminating how our brains work -- and the potential of artificial intelligence. 

 

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