Computer learns baby talk, won't require a college fund

In an attempt to better understand the way in which human babies learn to speak, researchers at Stanford University say they have created a computer program which can learn baby talk. The largely accepted theory about human language is that all of the sounds we make are hard-wired into our brains, but now that James McClelland -- a professor at the Palo Alto college -- has tested his theory, it would appear that those notions have been debunked. During "training sessions" in both English and Japanese, a computer followed along to recordings of mothers speaking to their children, and was able to pick up the basic vowel sounds as the baby did. "It learns how many sounds there are. It figures that out," the professor said, he then laughed maniacally and continued, "and once it has learned to speak, it will be trained to sing the most beautiful operas ever written."

[Andrew @ Jul 25th 2007 8:24AM]

Simpsons did it!

[CircleK @ Jul 25th 2007 8:36AM]

Yep. Looks like Unkie Herbs baby translator is finally getting some serious R&D. Do we all get vibrating chairs for our radioactive sperm now?!

[strider_mt2k @ Jul 25th 2007 10:44AM]

"Entertain me!"

"Very amusing."

Great one.

[Fubar @ Jul 25th 2007 8:30AM]

For an Apple II, shouldn't that be:

10 TEXT:HOME
20 ?"ga ga"
30 END

[Karan @ Jul 25th 2007 8:48AM]

I, for one, welcome our baby-talking opera-singing robotic overlords.

(yeah, ok, I'm sorry)

[AndyNJ @ Jul 25th 2007 9:00AM]

If this technology wants to debunk the current theory of all sounds being pre-wired, it needs to account for the fact that before babies can actually talk they babble through all of the sounds that a human can possibly make. This includes sounds that are not a part of their family's language and thus that they have never heard before.

[Alex @ Jul 25th 2007 2:14PM]

So you're saying that just becuase a person has never heard a certain sound, they are not able to recreate it? I think it much more likely that babies specifically(sp?) involuntarily make sounds(any and all sounds, only limited by what their bodies are able to produce) Alright, that doesn't really hit what I'm trying to say, but it's the general idea.

[AndyNJ @ Jul 25th 2007 2:16PM]

I'm actually saying the opposite of that. Before babies can talk, they make ALL the sounds that a human can possibly make. It doesn't matter if they have heard them or not.

Later on, they start to lose the ability to make some of the sounds that they don't actually use.

[Ivan @ Jul 25th 2007 9:50AM]

Using science to change the theories of philosophy is very cool stuff. Pre-wired sounds is just another form of innatism (that we are born with knowledge). John Locke would be proud of this project, very proud. His theory of empiricism could be proved if this project is successful.

-Ivan
http://thenerdcan.wordpress.com/

[Matt B @ Jul 25th 2007 10:24AM]

Then comes the harsh realization that the Family Guy's Stewie character isn't that far off from the truth.

[Matt B @ Jul 25th 2007 10:25AM]

Damn, my 3 month old has the mouth of a sailor!!!

[underwhelm @ Jul 25th 2007 6:38PM]

I put up with enough lousy science reporting from ordinary media. Now I have to deal with it from Engadget, too?