A printer linked to a Google speech transcription program API now enables stories to be recorded even when these are told by the illiterate. The same technology is available in booths to which people can go to “dictate” postcards that are subsequently posted to addresses all over the country.

Karpat Polat: “Illiteracy is a global issue and there are 13 million illiterate individuals in Brazil. Since their stories are unwritten, their memories may be lost forever. To ensure that not all these stories disappear, the Google Speech voice recognition program was used to transcribe each individual’s narrative. Each story was then printed out in real time using the HP Ink Advantage Ultra printer and turned into a hand-bound book. This has enabled the unwritten stories of 30 individuals to be preserved for posterity.”