Customer Reviews

VIVO [Voice-In/Voice-Out]: The Coming Age of Talking Computers

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Philosopher William Crossman foresees radical future changes in VIVO (Voice-In/Voice-Out): The Coming Age of Talking Computers, an upbeat look at how a voice-in voice-out interface with talking computers will revolutionize the world - to the extent of making written language obsolete by 2050! A steep claim indeed, yet the author is prepared to back it up with an in-depth examination of how the technology is used, its benefits especially to sight-impaired or functionally illiterate individuals, current trends in computing, and much more. A question-and-answer section at the end effectively summarizes and delivers radical insights into a burgeoning new field. Whether or not one agrees with the final conclusion, VIVO is an exciting and detailed glimpse of what the mid twenty-first century just might hold.

Bill Crossman has written a fascinating book that challenges the way we think about reading and writing. He explains that literacy was an advance for some people, but has never been the way that most of the people in the world share information. He says that in 50 years very few people will be using written language. Instead, we will return to the oral/aural culture that people have used for the million years that we have been here on Earth. He challenges us to think about the impact of VIVO on the haves and the have nots. This book may be even more important than Marshal McCluhan's The Medium Is the Message which I read in the early 1970s. It opened up my mind and made me think! I highly recommend this book!

Frank Duhl