Artificial empathy: Call center employees are using voice analytics to predict how you feel ZDNet

Customer service calls can be ... infuriating. Part of the reason is that humans generally aren't great at reading subtle emotional cues, especially if we only have voice to go by. At the same time, we often inadvertently broadcast unintended emotional signals, easily leading to miscommunication and discomfort over the phone. But an MIT spinoff called Cogito is using voice analytics to help customer service reps better understand how customers are feeling. The technology behind Cogito's enterprise product, which can predict a customer's emotional state by analyzing tone and voice patterns, has also been used to identify signs of PTSD and depression in veterans.