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Voice recognition technology has revolutionized the commercial market along with the growing use of home devices. However, it has applications in various law enforcement and security fields. The technology works mainly by analyzing sounds linked to Natural Language Processing (NLP). It is a branch of artificial intelligence that helps computers understand, interpret and manipulate human language. 

A new law enforcement AI technology leverages voice biometrics to identify a person. The technology is aimed to be used in law enforcement and phone monitoring to identify scammers’ voiceprints and hang up, but it can also be successfully implemented in finance. Government-owned China Construction Bank is already using voiceprints to verify customer identity alongside passwords.

The technology developed by a Chinese startup, iFlyTek, aims to use it in fighting phone scams after rolling out the voiceprint recognition system across the country. “Because recordings are important evidence when it comes to phone scams, demand for voice recognition is growing,” said Fu Zhonghua, the deputy head of iFlyTek’s research center.

The system has been undergoing testing since 2018, and Fu expects nationwide deployment in two to three years.

iFlyTek was included on the U.S. Entity List which blocks the entities from buying American products, having them in their supply chain, or maintaining relations with U.S. companies, following accusations that it was involved with 27 other Chinese companies and the government in ill treatment of Muslim minorities.