"My name is... my name is...": A Linguistic Map for Voice Agents — Midam Kim, ServiceNow
Midam Kim, an ML engineer at ServiceNow, demonstrates how a voice bot misheard her name by adding an N, mispronounced it again despite her correction, and later cut her off while she read an account number.
She argues that voice AI failures are not random bugs but follow a structured pattern. Kim presents a grid model with two channels (listening and speaking) and four levels (sounds, words, interaction, mental model). Each type of error—recognition, pronunciation, turn-taking, intent tracking—lands in a cell. Her key insight is that in voice conversation, sounds disappear as they're spoken, but the user's mental model accumulates—and that's what you're actually designing for.
Vibekollen prepared this summary with AI from the original publication. The content belongs to AI Engineer.
More to read
Lumaril, which develops AI software for optimizing industrial production by connecting to existing control systems, raised a $66M Series A at a $400M valuation
Techmeme 3 h ago
DeepSeek open sources Super-Agent as a research prototype, a proactive coding agent it says can monitor group chats for coding issues and suggest solutions
Techmeme 3 h ago
Insurance software maker Guidewire agrees to acquire Hyperexponential, which makes AI-powered insurance underwriting and pricing software, for $1.7B in cash
Techmeme 3 h ago
One word for AI agents in 2027
Nate Herk 7 h ago