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diff --git a/2023/talks/voice.md b/2023/talks/voice.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2c5c537f --- /dev/null +++ b/2023/talks/voice.md @@ -0,0 +1,216 @@ +[[!meta title="Enhancing productivity with voice computing"]] +[[!meta copyright="Copyright © 2023 Blaine Mooers"]] +[[!inline pages="internal(2023/info/voice-nav)" raw="yes"]] + +<!-- Initially generated with emacsconf-publish-talk-page and then left alone for manual editing --> +<!-- You can manually edit this file to update the abstract, add links, etc. ---> + +# Enhancing productivity with voice computing +Blaine Mooers (he/him/his) - Pronunciation: pronounced like "moors", blaine-mooers(at)ouhsc.edu, <https://basicsciences.ouhsc.edu/bmb/Faculty/bio_details/mooers-blaine-hm-phd>, <https://twitter.com/BlaineMooers>, <https://github.com/MooersLab>, <https://codeberg.org/MooersLab>, mastodon(at)bhmooers + +[[!inline pages="internal(2023/info/voice-before)" raw="yes"]] + +[[!template id="help" +volunteer="" +summary="Q&A could be indexed with chapter markers" +tags="help_with_chapter_markers" +message="""The Q&A session for this talk does not have chapter markers yet. +Would you like to help? See [[help_with_chapter_markers]] for more details. You can use the vidid="voice-qanda" if adding the markers to this wiki page, or e-mail your chapter notes to <emacsconf-submit@gnu.org>."""]] + +Voice computing uses speech recognition software to convert speech into text, commands, or code. +While there is a venerated program called EmacSpeaks for converting text into speech, an +``EmacsListens'' for converting speech into text is not available yet. +The Emacs Wiki describes the underdeveloped situation for speech-to-text in Emacs. +I will explain how two external software packages convert my speech into text and computer +commands that can be used with Emacs. + +First, I present some motivations for using voice computing. +These can be divided into two categories: productivity improvement and health-related issues. +In this second category, there is the underappreciated cure for ``standing desk envy''; +the cure is achievable with a large dose of voice computing while standing. + +I found one software package (Voice In) to be quite accurate for speech-to-text or dictation +(Voice In Plus, <https://dictanote.co/voicein/plus/>), but less versatile for speech-to-commands. +I have used this package daily, and I found a three-fold increase in my daily word count almost +immediately. +Of course, there are limits here; you can talk for only so many hours per day. + +Second, I found another software package that has a less accurate language model (Talon Voice, +<http://talon.wiki/>)) but that supports custom commands that can be executed anywhere you can +place the cursor, including in virtual machines and on remote servers. +Talon Voice will appeal to those who like to tinker with configuration files, yet it is easy to +use. + +I will explain how I have integrated these two packages into my workflow. +I have developed a library of commands that expand 94 English contractions when spoken. +This library eliminates tedious downstream editing of formal prose where I do not use +contractions. +The library is available on GitHub for both Voice In Plus +(<https://github.com/mooersLab/voice-in-plus-contractions>) and Talon Voice +(<https://github.com/MooersLab/talon-contractions>). + +I also supply the interactive quizzes to master the basic Voice In commands +(<https://github.com/MooersLab/voice-in-basics-quiz>) and the Talon Voice phonetic alphabet +(<https://github.com/MooersLab/talon-voice-quizzes/qTalonAlphabet.py>) +I learned the Talon alphabet in one day by taking the quiz at spaced intervals. +The quiz took only 60 seconds to complete when I was proficient. + +I store my daily writing in a multi-file LaTeX document with one tex file per day. +365 files are compiled into one PDF per year. This is usually about 1000 pages. +I am not going to push my luck with a multiyear document. +Each month is a chapter. The resulting PDF is a breeze to scroll and search. +It has an autogenerated table of contents and an index. I have posted +a blank version for 2023 and another for the upcoming year +(<https://github.com/MooersLab/diary2024inLaTeX>) +One could take a similar approach in org-mode by using Bastian Bechtold's +org-journal package (<https://github.com/bastibe/org-journal>). + +I gave a 60-minute talk on this topic to the Oklahoma Data Science Workshop +2023 Nov. 16 (<https://mediasite.ouhsc.edu/Mediasite/Channel/python>). +This workshop meets once a month and is for people interested in data +science and scientific computing. You do not have to be an Oklahoma +resident to attend. Send me e-mail if you want to be added to our mailing list. + +# About the speaker: + +I am an Associate Professor of Biochemistry at the University of +Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. I use X-ray crystallography to study +the structures of RNA, proteins, and protein-drug complexes. I have +been using Python and LaTeX for a dozen years, and Jupyter Notebooks +since 2013. I have been using Emacs every day for 2.5 years. I +discovered voice computing this summer when my chronic repetitive +stress injury flared up while entering data in a spreadsheet. I +tripled my daily word count by using the speech-to-text, and I get a +kick out of running remote computers by speech-to-command. +# Discussion + +## Questions and answers + +- Q: Comment there is a text to command thing called clipea that + would be awesome <https://github.com/dave1010/clipea> + - A: <https://sourceforge.net/projects/sox/> also a good + alternative. +- Q: Could you comment on how speaking vs. typing affects your + logic/content. Thanks! + - A: I find that this is like the difference between writing your thoughts + down on a blank piece of printer paper versus paper bound with a + leather notebook. I do not think there has any real difference. I know + that some people believe there is a solid certain difference but this + is, for the purpose I am using this, for the purpose of generating the + first draft, because my skills with the-- using my voice to edit my + text is still not very well developed, I am still more efficient using + the keyboard for that stage. + + So the hardest part about + writing generally is getting the first crappy draft written. I + have found that dictation is perfectly fine for that phase. I + find it actually very conducive for just getting the text out. The + biggest problem that most of us have is applying our internal editor and + that inhibits us from generating words in a free-flowing + fashion. + + I generally do my generative writing--actually, I divide my writing + into two categories: generative writing (generating the first crappy + draft) and then rewriting. Rewriting is probably 80-90% of writing + where you can go back and rework the order of the sentences, order of + paragraphs, the order of words in a sentence and so forth. It is + really hard work that is best done later in the day when I am more + awake. I do my generative writing first thing in the morning when I am + feel horrible. That is when my internal editor is not very awake and I + can get more words out more words past that gatekeeper. I can do this + sitting down. I can do this standing up. I can do this 20 feet away + from my computer looking out the window to get my eyes a break. I find + it is just a very enjoyable to use it in this fashion. The downside is + that I wind up generating three times as much text. That makes for + three times as much work when it comes to rewriting the text, and that + means I am using the keyboard a lot and later on in the day. + + I have not made any progress on recovering from my own repetitive + stress injury. I hope that I will add the use of voice commands, + speech-to-commands, for editing the text in the future and I will + eventually give my hands more of a break. + + This allows you to actually separate those two activities not only by + time... So many professional writers will spend several hours in the + morning doing the generative part and then they will spend the rest of + the day rewriting. They have separated this to activities temporally. + What most people actually do is they they do the generative part and + then they write one sentence, and they apply that internal editor + right away because they want to write the first draft as a perfect + version, as a final draft, and that is what slows them down + dramatically. + + This also allows you to separate these two activities in terms of + modality. You are going to do the generative writing by Voice In, the + rewriting by keyboard. I think this is like what most people... One way + that many people can get into using speech-to-text in a productive way + that sounds great... + - A: (not the author, just an audiance): So, for example, when + you're talking, you have an immense feeling of the topic you + have. You can close your eyes and do your body gestures to + manipulate a concept or idea, and you have... I just feel you + feel more creative than just tapping. Definitely you have much + more speed advantage over tapping, but more important thing is + you use your body as a whole to interact with those ideas. + [this one is done via voice...] + - but typing is definitely good for acturate control, such as + M-x some-command ... +- Q: Have you tried the ChatGTP voice chat interface, if so how has + been your experience of it? As someone experienced with voice + control, interested to hear your thoughts, performance relative to + the open source tools in particular. + - A: I do not have much experience with that particular software. I have + use Whisper a little bit, and so that is related. Of course, you have + this problem of lag. I find that Whisper is good for spitting out a + sentence maybe for a docstring and a programming file. I find that it + is very prone to hallucinations. I find myself spending half my + time deleting the hallucinations, and I feel like the net gain is + diminished as a result, or there has not much of a net gain in terms of + what I am getting out of it. +- Q: Are any of these voice command/dictions freemium? + - A: To be able to add custom commands, you have to pay + $48 a year. The Talon Voice software is free and the only + limitation there is access to the language model. If you want to get + the beta version, you need to subscribe to Patreon to support the + developer. I did that, and I really did not find much of + an improvement. I really do not intend to do that in the future. + But otherwise in Talon Voice, everything is open and free. The Slack + community is incredibly welcoming. Its parallels with + the Emacs Community are pretty striking. +- Q: How good is Talon compared to whisper? + - A: With Talon, I find that the first part of the sentence will + be fairly accurate. When I am doing dictation and then towards + the end, the errors... In general, I think its error rate is + about five words out of 100 or so or will be wrong. Whisper is + wonderful because it will insert punctuation for you, but I + guess its errors are longer and that will hallucinate full + sentences for you. So they both have significant error rates. + They are just different kinds of errors. Hopefully, both over + time... [Talon] errors are generally shorter in extent. It do + not hallucinate as long. +- Q: are any of those voice command/dictation tools libre? i can not find that information on the web + - (not the speaker): + - this FAQ <https://talon.wiki/faq/> says that Talon Voice is closed source + - talon voice is non-free <https://talonvoice.com/EULA.txt> + - Mistral 7B is apache 2.0 license i.e. no restrictions + + +## Notes + +- From the speaker: I really appreciate the high level of accuracy that I am getting from +Voice In. I would use Talon Voice for dictation, but at this point, +there is a significant difference between the level of accuracy of +Voice In versus Talon Voice. It's large enough of a difference that I'll +probably use Voice In for a while until I can figure out how to get +Talon Voice to generate more accurate text. +- When you do Org mode and you have the bullets, it can allows you to naturally shard your thoughts in a way that is really easy to edit. ... It has a +summarizing capability. It allows you to you know pull back and get a +overview. +- Great stuff, definitely going to test-drive Talon + + +[[!inline pages="internal(2023/info/voice-after)" raw="yes"]] + +[[!inline pages="internal(2023/info/voice-nav)" raw="yes"]] + + |