Block's new AI model Dessa was trained entirely on human speech to catch emotions text-based models miss

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Block, the company behind Square and Cash App, has unveiled an AI speech model called Dessa.

Block says Dessa is the first AI model trained entirely on human speech, with no text data at all, built from scratch. Instead of converting audio to text first, Dessa processes speech directly as audio. That lets it pick up on emotions, sarcasm, laughter, and pauses in real time.

The model supports full-duplex communication, so it can listen and talk at the same time.