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Call Ingmar!

By Nils Claesson and Rolf Lindgren

Talk with Ingmar about Politics

Ingmar is your own personal advisor in questions about politics and public opinion. You can call Ingmar and conduct a conversation with him. This costs no more than a normal telephone call. Ingmar is an artificial intelligence system, tailor-made to be your conversation partner. WhatÕs great about Ingmar is that he is a machine. When asking Ingmar questions, you never need to feel stupid.

Who is Ingmar?

Ingmar got his name from a Swedish voice synthesis system which was originally developed by Telia.
The project has grown into a collaboration between artist Nils Claesson and programmer Rolf Lindgren.
In Talk with Ingmar about Politics, the most advanced developments within voice recognition and speech synthesis are combined.
Today, technology exists which is applied in telephone exchanges and voice-directed booking systems (for example, the Swedish national railway system, SJ).
Talk with Ingmar is a unique project because the synthetic voice has been given the possibility of developing its own personality.
In the future, consumers will acquire artificial intelligence systems, with varying degrees of ability, to be used as assistants in everyday life.
Ingmar is a step along the way.
Ingmar is more than an instrument: he is a friend and advisor who becomes cleverer with every upgrade.
A true friend who isn’t simply a Yes-man but actually dares to stand for his own opinions.

How Does It Work?

You can call Ingmar twenty-four hours a day.
If the line is busy, call again.
Ingmar will answer your questions to the best of his ability.
If you’re not certain what to do, you can also ask Ingmar how he works.
Give Ingmar one question at a time.

Background

Ingmar began his career in the art world in September, 2000, where he participated in the exhibition, CRAC, at Liljevalchs.
There, one could speak with Ingmar about art, and the meaning of life.
During the winter of 2000/2001 Ingmar moved in to Filmhuset [The Film House] in Stockholm.
Talk with Ingmar about Film thus was born.
In the summer of 2001 Ingmar participated in the exhibition, Pengar [Money], at Kulturhuset [The House of Culture], with the project Talk with Ingmar about Money.
Now, Ingmar has gone even further and become a telephone service
This, in order to be as accessible as possible.

 

Thanks to: Bengt. E. Waernulf Babel-Infovox and Susanne Eismann, as well as: Presector Speech Technology