Co-Design of Context-Aware Trustworthy Audio Capture

In today’s world, we are surrounded by a variety of Autonomous AUdio Systems (AAUS). Audio capture may contain personal identity attributes of voice and speech that are protected in the scope of individual rights. This data can also be misused by attackers, highlighting key issues of data protection, privacy, and security. AAUS encompasses the wide breadth of devices and systems that are enabled for audio and speech capture, such as home devices, smart watches, virtual assistants, and audio-enabled vehicles.

The intersection of these issues requires an understanding of how people experience trust toward AAUS in a variety of contexts. This project will explore how people construct their perception of these issues in context. From a privacy perspective, building trust involves controlling access to information that is found in audio. Security spans the ways that audio data can be used or potentially misused.  Work will involve the co-design,  implementation and administering of an interactive listening survey in which participants choose how to modify audio in various contexts and imagined scenarios. Further work will investigate ways that individual protections and trust of AAUS may be increased.

This TAS Hub project is led by the University of Southampton in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Nottingham and runs for the period of 1 year, commencing August 2022.

Project kick off video