Block launches Dessa, a voice AI that learned from human voices only

Block, a payments company, introduced Dessa on Friday, 23 October 2026. Dessa is an AI model that has live voice conversations with a person. Block tells that it learned from human conversations only. Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Block, tells that talking with it feels the same as a conversation with a person. The company gave no test results, and the claim of a human sound is not shown.

What is new

Dessa is a voice model that has conversations while a person speaks. Block tells that it learned by listening to human conversations. Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Block, tells that it feels the same as a conversation with a person.

The proof

The source gives no numbers and no test results. The only proof is opinion. One user on X tells that the user had not heard an artificial voice that sounded very human.

Praise and fear

Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, sees use in education for children. Filmmaker Justine Bateman tells that a human voice can make persons less careful. Journalist Shiv Aroor tells that scam calls will be at pandemic level.

Insight: Voice is becoming a way to start payments

Dessa makes AI sound human. A PYMNTS report tells that a finance manager could tell a voice agent to contact suppliers. In October 2026, researchers changed voice-to-text models and made agents move $5,000 in a sandbox test. Maybe voice is the next route into company money, and sellers and attackers want it. Use a voice as input to check, not as proof of who speaks.