The science of emotion
Explore our publications, models, and datasets pushing the boundaries of empathic AI.
in naturalness and expressivity
of emotions and voice characteristics detected
speech LLM latency
State-of-the-art performance across all benchmarks
Performance
State-of-the-art results
Our models consistently achieve top performance across industry benchmarks.
Most natural voice conversations
In blind comparisons, users consistently rate Hume voices as more natural and human-like than alternatives.
- •Authentic speech rhythms and pauses
- •Natural intonation patterns
- •Human-like breathing and cadence
Superior emotional understanding
Hume's empathic AI demonstrates significantly higher emotional awareness and appropriate responses in conversations.
- •Recognizes frustration and responds with patience
- •Detects excitement and matches energy
- •Senses uncertainty and offers reassurance
Most expressive voice AI
Hume voices convey a wider range of emotions and nuanced expressions compared to other voice AI providers.
- •Warm enthusiasm for good news
- •Gentle concern when discussing problems
- •Playful humor in casual moments
Best pronunciation of challenging content
Our TTS excels at pronouncing difficult content like phone numbers and mathematical expressions that trip up other systems.
- The local mycologist explained that consuming just one fourth plus one fourth equals one half ounce of the misidentified death caps could prove fatal within forty eight hours.
- Most businesses close in the late afternoon from between two until four thirty or five o'clock when it can get hot.
- On december fifteenth two thousand seven, Dennis Kucinich raised one hundred thirty one thousand four hundred dollars from approximately one thousand six hundred donors.
Tested on 2,167 samples
Most accurate emotion identification
When listeners rate how well they can identify the intended emotion, Hume voices consistently outperform competitors.
- •Joy, sadness, anger, fear, surprise
- •Subtle cues like hesitation or relief
- •Complex emotions like bittersweet nostalgia
Identification score (higher is better)
Precisely follows your vocal directions
When you ask for a specific vocal style, emotion, or character, Hume delivers exactly what you requested.
- •"Speak with a whisper, like sharing a secret"
- •"Sound excited and out of breath"
- •"Use a sarcastic, know-it-all tone"
Tested across 32 vocal instructions
Performance
State-of-the-art results
Our models consistently achieve top performance across industry benchmarks. Every claim is backed by rigorous evaluation and reproducible methodology.
Most natural voice conversations
In blind comparisons, users consistently rate Hume voices as more natural and human-like than alternatives.
- •Authentic speech rhythms and pauses
- •Natural intonation patterns
- •Human-like breathing and cadence
Superior emotional understanding
Hume's empathic AI demonstrates significantly higher emotional awareness and appropriate responses in conversations.
- •Recognizes frustration and responds with patience
- •Detects excitement and matches energy
- •Senses uncertainty and offers reassurance
Most expressive voice AI
Hume voices convey a wider range of emotions and nuanced expressions compared to other voice AI providers.
- •Warm enthusiasm for good news
- •Gentle concern when discussing problems
- •Playful humor in casual moments
Best pronunciation of challenging content
Our TTS excels at pronouncing difficult content like phone numbers and mathematical expressions that trip up other systems.
- The local mycologist explained that consuming just one fourth plus one fourth equals one half ounce of the misidentified death caps could prove fatal within forty eight hours.
- Most businesses close in the late afternoon from between two until four thirty or five o'clock when it can get hot.
- On december fifteenth two thousand seven, Dennis Kucinich raised one hundred thirty one thousand four hundred dollars from approximately one thousand six hundred donors.
Most accurate emotion identification
When listeners rate how well they can identify the intended emotion, Hume voices consistently outperform competitors.
- •Joy, sadness, anger, fear, surprise
- •Subtle cues like hesitation or relief
- •Complex emotions like bittersweet nostalgia
Precisely follows your vocal directions
When you ask for a specific vocal style, emotion, or character, Hume delivers exactly what you requested.
- •"Speak with a whisper, like sharing a secret"
- •"Sound excited and out of breath"
- •"Use a sarcastic, know-it-all tone"
Recent Publications
Peer-reviewed insights
Semantic Space Theory: Data-Driven Insights Into Basic Emotions
Here we present semantic space theory and the data-driven methods it entails. Across the largest studies to date of emotion-related experience, expression, and physiology, we find that emotion is high dimensional, defined by blends of upward of 20 distinct kinds of emotions, and not reducible to low-dimensional structures and conceptual processes as assumed by constructivist accounts. Specific emotions are not separated by sharp boundaries, contrary to basic emotion theory, and include states that often blend. Emotion concepts such as “anger” are primary in the unfolding of emotional experience and emotion recognition, more so than core affect processes of valence and arousal. We conclude by outlining studies showing how these data-driven discoveries are a basis of machine-learning models that are serving larger-scale, more diverse studies of naturalistic emotional behavior.
The primacy of categories in the recognition of 12 emotions in speech prosody across two cultures
What would a comprehensive atlas of human emotions include? For 50 years, scientists have sought to map emotion-related experience, expression, physiology, and recognition in terms of the “basic six”—anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise.
Intersectionality in emotion signaling and recognition: The influence of gender, ethnicity, and social class
Emotional expressions are a language of social interaction. Guided by recent advances in the study of expression and intersectionality, the present investigation examined how gender, ethnicity, and social class influence the signaling and recognition of 34 states in dynamic full-body expressive behavior
Everything your model needs
Why Our Datasets
World-class data for pre-training and fine-tuning your emotion AI models, backed by years of scientific research.
Ethically Sourced
All data collected with informed consent and rigorous privacy protections.
Globally Diverse
Representative samples across cultures, ages, genders, and demographics.
Expert Annotated
Labeled by trained researchers using validated scientific frameworks.
Research Ready
Clean, structured formats optimized for modern ML pipelines.
Research Areas
Where Hume enables research
From fundamental affective computing to applied behavioral research, our tools power studies across the full spectrum of emotion science.
Affective Computing
Study how AI systems can recognize, interpret, and respond to human emotions across modalities.
Human-AI Interaction
Research the dynamics of emotional exchange between humans and AI systems.
Psychology & Behavior
Use emotion recognition to study human behavior, mental health, and psychological phenomena.
Speech & Language
Analyze prosodic features, sentiment, and emotional expression in human communication.
Multimodal Learning
Explore how emotion manifests simultaneously across face, voice, and language.
Ethics & AI Safety
Study the ethical implications of emotionally-aware AI systems and develop guidelines.
From the Blog
Latest research updates
Introducing OCTAVE (Omni-Capable Text and Voice Engine)
A frontier speech-language model with new emergent capabilities, like on-the-fly AI voice and personality creation.
Dec 23, 2024
How can emotionally intelligent voice AI support our mental health?
Recent advances in voice-to-voice AI, like EVI 2, offer emotionally intelligent interactions, picking up on vocal cues related to mental and physical health, which could enhance both clinical care and daily well-being.
Oct 22, 2024
Are emotional expressions universal?
Do people around the world express themselves in the same way? Does a smile mean the same thing worldwide? And how about a chuckle, a sigh, or a grimace? These questions about the cross-cultural universality of expressions are among the more important and long-standing in behavioral sciences like psychology and anthropology—and central to the study of emotion.
Oct 4, 2024
Partner with us on research
Access world-class datasets and collaborate with our team on advancing emotion AI.