Automatic Speech Recognition: Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and the race for Human Parity

Somewhere between 2009 and 2010 a new and exciting technology broke into the forefront of Artificial Intelligence research. Within a few months, a combination of advanced computing power and huge amounts of data set the stage for a new era in AI. Sophisticated algorithms, invented back in the 1950s, previously considered no more than an academic thought experiment, were transmuted into the cutting edge of the industry. These algorithms -- Deep Neural Networks -- broke boundaries, smashed records, and obtained novel achievements in the field of Artificial Intelligence, that had been all but lying dormant for decades. One of the areas where these achievements were most prominent was Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), i.e., the task of automatically transcribing voice recordings into written words.