Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, today unveiled Tingwu, an (artificial intelligence) AI-powered meeting assistant, alongside a new version of its cloud computer. The solutions are tailored for the new world of work and address surging demand from corporate users looking to work remotely with more automated support, a trend accelerated by the pandemic.

Tingwu is developed by the Speech Lab of Alibaba DAMO Academy (DAMO), the global research initiative by Alibaba Group. The technology works by converting the content of spoken meetings into written minutes in real-time with up to 98% accuracy (Accuracy in Mandarin. State Information Center Software Testing Center, Report Number: SICSTC/TR-ZJ20190053), delivering an efficient experience for users.

“Underpinned by our end-to-end speech recognition solution, Tingwu’s accuracy and powerful features make it a perfect tool for businesses to host multi-location online and offline conferences and interviews,” said Zhijie Yan, head of Speech Lab of Alibaba DAMO Academy. “As enterprises continue to embrace the next generation of remote working, Tingwu is well-positioned to transform business meetings with productive and easy-to-use automated voice transcription capabilities.”

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Using DAMO’s proprietary algorithms for analyzing voiceprints and bearings, Tingwu, unveiled during this year’s Apsara Conference, can distinguish among the voices of as many as 10 meeting participants. The assistant is equipped with a smart microphone, which can easily receive and recognize speech within a 10-meter range while reducing background noise.

Automatic speech

Tingwu’s ability to comprehend, powered by automatic speech recognition capabilities, natural language processing, and deep-learning technologies, enables it to handle English, Mandarin and 14 other Chinese dialects as well as automatically correct or refine notes based on the entire context of a meeting. The assistant can also organize the minutes by keywords, generate a meeting summary, and highlight and list out follow-up items.

In China, Tingwu has been integrated into DingTalk, a digital collaboration platform created by Alibaba Group, to enhance meeting efficiency on the platform by automatically transcribing conversations and sharing notes with users.

Building on the success of the Wuying cloud computer for enterprises that debuted last year, Alibaba Cloud has upgraded its functionality with an all-in-one PC and a one-stop “Cloud Workplace” solution to empower users to work from anywhere.

The upgraded computer draws on the power of the cloud to give users access to organizational resources regardless of whether they are at home or in the office. This access comes through the “Cloud Workplace,” an integrated solution consisting of security, network, and storage tools enabling enterprises to build “an office in the cloud” in a secure and agile way.

Data security

The solution directly addresses the data security challenges faced by many IT departments when they adopt flexible working arrangements. Leveraging cloud-based data security capabilities such as firewalls, end-to-end encryption, and cloud backup and recovery, the solution stores information in the cloud, rather than on a device, thereby enhancing corporate information security for both home-based and in-office workforces.

Powered by the “Cloud Workplace,” the Wuying family of products now consists of the latest all-in-one PC, the previously launched card and box terminals, and a Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) application, which allows corporate users to connect to the cloud computer from any device regardless of the operating system installed. This gives corporates the flexibility to utilize existing resources and the scalability to support business expansion, allowing them to tailor IT infrastructure based on their unique demands.