Enabling natural computing

Summary form only given. We are entering the third generation of the human computer interface. In contrast to the first and second generations where human users has to learn the arcane command languages or graphical icons to operate computers in the ways the computers were designed, the third generation interface will allow the users to express their intents naturally by shifting the burden of understanding what it takes to interact from the human to the computer. Natural computing will be mainstream in the near future that could dramatically improve the quality of our daily lives. Spoken language technologies play a central role for natural computing. Spoken language is the modality that can offer a consistent means of interaction for a variety of computer form factors across a wide range of hands free, eyes free environments. Technology advancements in this area have made impressive progress so that the prevalence of the spoken language interface is no longer a question of "whether" but "when". In this paper, the author summarizes the recent progress of industry and academia in bringing natural computing to the mass market.