OpenAI has developed a neural network called Whisper, which it claims achieves near-human levels of robustness and accuracy in recognizing spoken English. The model is being made available as an open-source project, allowing developers to use and modify it for their own applications. --- Why it matters: This matters because Whisper's performance could improve speech recognition capabilities in various AI-powered systems, such as virtual assistants, transcription software, or voice-controlled devices. Source: https://openai.com/index/whisper