Stop being a jerk

The gig is up. New cell phone software is in the works at Massachusetts Institute of Technology that will let people know when the person they are talking to is just pretending to be interested.

The "Jerk-O-Meter" software analyzes speech patterns and voice tones to rate people on a scale of 0 to 100 percent as to how engaged they are in a conversation. It uses mathematical algorithms to measure levels of stress and empathy in a person's voice and also keeps track of how often someone is speaking.

"In one scenario, the Jerk-O-Meter software sends a text message to you while you are on the phone letting you know that your voice is getting out of control. You can also configure the software to let the person on the other end know that you're busy and therefore might be less attentive.

The concept of the Jerk-O-Meter is based on an unpublished study about the topic, as well as a related MIT paper called "Voices of Attraction" that analyzed 60 five-minute speed-dating sessions. The paper concluded that you could actually measure a person's interest level in a conversation based on verbal and non-verbal clues. The study concluded that a wearable "social signaling meter" is the next likely step."

Jerk-O-Meter [CNet News]

Die Dulci Fruere