Can AI Read the Room? USC Study Finds AI Is Better at Reading Than Listening - USC Viterbi | School of Engineering

Can AI Read the Room? (Credit: Midjourney)

Today, users can do more than exchange text with artificial intelligence (AI).

From holding conversations and asking questions aloud to sending voice messages, AI can now process audios and respond in real time.

But can AI really listen as well as it can read?

A new study led by USC researchers suggests the answer is no. The team found that even today’s most advanced audio large language models (LLMs) struggle to interpret information beyond the spoken words, often taking language too literally and missing the nonverbal cues that have an equally important role in human communication.