Block's AI Model Dessa, Trained on Human Conversations, Introduced

Payment company Block has announced Dessa, a real-time conversational AI model trained exclusively by listening to human speech. Following the announcement, the model received positive reactions on social media for its natural voice tone while also sparking concerns over scam risks.

Payment company Block announced Dessa, an artificial intelligence model trained entirely using human conversations, in a statement on Friday. In its announcement, Block stated that Dessa is the first artificial intelligence in the world capable of real-time conversation by learning solely from human speech. Co-founder Jack Dorsey stated that talking to the artificial intelligence feels like talking to a human, boasting an extremely natural flow in terms of emotion, tone, and pauses.

According to CoinDesk, the launch of Dessa was met with mixed reactions on social media. While X platform user Alexander Hoff stated that he had never heard such a human-like voice generated by artificial intelligence before, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao noted that the model could help children learn by speaking and could be used in the GiggleAcademy project. On the other hand, figures such as filmmaker Justine Bateman and journalist Shiv Aroor expressed concerns that such a human-like voice could be misused for fraudulent purposes by lowering people's defenses.