<s>
The	B-Application
Ebert	I-Application
test	I-Application
gauges	O
whether	O
a	O
computer-based	O
synthesized	B-Application
voice	I-Application
can	O
tell	O
a	O
joke	O
with	O
sufficient	O
skill	O
to	O
cause	O
people	O
to	O
laugh	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
proposed	O
by	O
film	O
critic	O
Roger	O
Ebert	O
at	O
the	O
2011	O
TED	O
conference	O
as	O
a	O
challenge	O
to	O
software	B-Application
developers	I-Application
to	O
have	O
a	O
computerized	O
voice	O
master	O
the	O
inflections	O
,	O
delivery	O
,	O
timing	O
,	O
and	O
intonations	O
of	O
a	O
speaking	O
human	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
employed	O
a	O
Scottish	O
company	O
called	O
CereProc	B-Application
,	O
which	O
custom-tailors	O
text-to-speech	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
voiceless	O
customers	O
who	O
record	O
their	O
voices	O
at	O
length	O
before	O
losing	O
them	O
,	O
and	O
mined	O
tapes	O
and	O
DVD	O
commentaries	O
featuring	O
Ebert	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
voice	O
that	O
sounded	O
more	O
like	O
his	O
own	O
voice	O
.	O
</s>
