Terms and Conditions
Dated: November 15, 2025
Version: 1.0
This task is part of a research study conducted by otoearth, Inc.
Summary
It is a goal to record 100,000 hours of English voice conversations to enable the research community to make an artificial intelligence system for modeling human conversation by a machine.
Purpose
In connection with this SSSD2 project, we will attempt to collect and record a dataset of (i) spontaneous and casual voice conversations, (ii) any optional demographic information, and (iii) any optional survey response information from study participants through a web application used by study participants. It is a goal of this SSSD project that the recorded voice conversations can be made publicly available (along with any optional demographic information provided by you or other study participants).
Procedures
As a study participant, you will be asked to speak with other study participants. You will also be asked if you want to provide certain optional information about yourself. Each session may last approximately 15–20 minutes.
If you want to participate in this study, then you must consent to participate by agreeing to this Online Consent Form for Participation in Research (“consent form”). If you do not agree to this consent form, you may not participate in the study.
Demographic Information (Optional)
If you sign this consent form, then you will be asked to provide certain optional demographic information (age, gender, race, and English speaking accent) when creating your account.
You may choose to make some, all, or none of this demographic information public on the website, and you can also set specific information as private at any time.
You may still participate in the study even if you do not provide or publish any of the optional demographic information.
Recording Activity
After you are asked about the optional demographic information, you will be directed to the recording dashboard page.
On the recording dashboard page, you will be given a few topics from which you can select one to discuss.
When you select a topic, you will be directed to a target topic page and can press the start button to begin a voice conversation with another participant on the same page.
If no other participant is available, you may wait until another participant joins.
After you match with another participant, both of you should talk about the specific topic for approximately 15–20 minutes.
You may stop talking and stop the recording at any time.
Please conduct your voice conversation in a private location so that no one else nearby is inadvertently recorded.
During your conversation, please do not disclose any information that can identify you (such as your name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address).
Do not harass or abuse other participants or use inappropriate, offensive, or indecent language.
You should not attempt to contact other participants after the study is over.
Your portion of the recorded conversation and the other participant’s portion are recorded and stored separately.
At the end of the session, you may either (a) submit your voice recording or (b) delete it.
The other participant may submit their recording even if you delete yours; however, their recording would not contain your voice.
By participating in this study, you agree that you can be audio recorded by otoearth, Inc. and its employees or agents to make the recordings.
Any voice recordings (including copyright) will belong exclusively to otoearth, Inc.
If you choose to submit any recordings, you understand and agree that otoearth, Inc. has the ongoing right (and can allow others) to use, copy, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, perform, and/or distribute those recordings worldwide.
Participant Requirements
Participation in this study is limited to individuals aged 18 and older, who are currently in the United States, and who speak English proficiently.
Participants cannot be residents of California, Illinois, Texas, Washington, Colorado, Virginia, Utah, or Connecticut.
Risks
The risks and discomfort associated with participation in this study are no greater than those ordinarily encountered in daily life or during other online activities.
Your voice recording will be anonymized, and the collected data will not be associated with your personal information when shared or released to the public.
However, it may be possible for someone to re-identify the recordings (for example, if they had other identifiable recordings of you).
Benefits
Currently, there is a lack of large-scale spontaneous conversational speech databases available for research and development.
The desired public release of voice conversations (along with any provided demographic data) will benefit the speech and language research communities, including helping them build high-performance speech-processing models (such as automatic speech recognition for conversational speech).
Those models may advance technology in many applications, including smartphones, and benefit the users of those applications.
Compensation & Costs
There is no compensation for participation in this study.
There will be no cost to you if you participate.
Confidentiality; Privacy; and Use of Information (including Future Use)
By participating in this research, you understand and agree that otoearth, Inc. may be required to disclose your consent form, data, and personally identifiable information as required by law, regulation, subpoena, or court order.
Otherwise, your confidentiality will be maintained in the following manner:
Your data and consent form will be kept separately and securely stored by otoearth, Inc.
By participating, you understand and agree that the data and information gathered during this study (including your recordings and demographic information) may now and in the future be used by otoearth, Inc. and shared, published, licensed, and/or otherwise disclosed to others (including partner institutions, companies, and research collaborators) for research, commercial, and/or other purposes without additional consent.
However, your name, address, contact information, and other direct personal identifiers will not be provided to those other parties.
Although the data gathered during this study could have commercial value or be commercially licensed in the future, you will have no legal or financial interest in the recordings or any resulting developments.
Privacy Policy
For more information on otoearth, Inc.’s privacy and data protection practices, please review our Privacy Notice at:
https://app.oto.earth/privacy-policy
All research data will be kept for a minimum of 3 years.
Your Rights as a Research Participant
Your participation is voluntary. You are free to stop your participation at any time.
Refusal to participate or withdrawal of consent will not result in any penalty or loss of rights.
If you decide to withdraw, any data already submitted (including recordings and demographic information) may still be used as described and cannot be recalled once anonymized.
The Principal Investigator may remove you from the study for safety, ineligibility, or other reasons at their discretion.
The study may also be terminated at any time. You will not suffer any penalty or loss of benefits if this occurs.
Right to Ask Questions & Contact Information
If you have any questions about this study, please contact us at: