Block introduces Dessa, a local voice model with humanlike expression

What happened

Block introduced Dessa, a full-duplex speech model that can talk and listen simultaneously, with expressions including laughter, pauses, and cries. Block says it was trained entirely on human speech using a single NVIDIA GPU and can run locally on a MacBook M4 Max or better. Dessa has no public access yet, and Block is inviting safety researchers to test it.

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Reported by 3 sources

The story so far

Block has introduced Dessa, a speech-to-speech AI model, and is inviting a small group of safety researchers to test it for unexpected risks while public access remains unavailable. Block says the model was trained from scratch entirely on human conversation, without text data, and can run locally on a MacBook Pro M4 Max or better. Dessa can listen and speak simultaneously, with vocal expressions such as laughter, pauses and cries. Block’s shared demonstrations show mostly natural exchanges, though some moments are awkward. The early testing invitation gives safety researchers access to examine the model’s behavior before broader availability.