What technological barrier, involving speech flow, had to be overcome before speech became a truly useful data source for large-scale analysis?
Answer
The transition from Isolated Word Recognition (IWR) to Continuous Speech Recognition (CSR)
A critical hurdle that needed to be cleared before speech data could serve as a reliable source for extensive analysis was the shift from Isolated Word Recognition (IWR) to Continuous Speech Recognition (CSR). IWR required speakers to insert distinct pauses between every word spoken, making natural conversation impossible to process. CSR, conversely, is the capability to understand normal conversational flow without mandated pauses. Overcoming this barrier was essential because real-world data, especially in dynamic environments like contact centers, occurs naturally without such deliberate breaks.

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