What happens when the listener is no longer just at the end of the audio signal chain? Recent research is beginning to measure not only sound, but also what happens in the body, the inner ear, and the brain while we listen. One experimental system has gone further, using neural attention to amplify the conversation a person was trying to follow. In this article, I explore the path from measuring the listener to making human attention part of the audio system itself.

We usually think of automotive audio as entertainment. But as AI and driver-assistance systems evolve, sound is becoming something more: a way to guide attention, communicate risk, and help us notice what we might otherwise miss. In this article, I explore how audio is becoming part of the vehicle’s intelligence — and why the most important sound may not be music at all.

A recent study about blue whales led me down an unexpected path. What began as a fascinating discovery about whale songs became a much broader reflection on communication, cities, audio, artificial intelligence, and the changing soundscape we all share. This is the connection I wasn't expecting.