# Block's new AI model Dessa was trained entirely on human speech to catch emotions text-based models miss

**Published:** October 24, 2026
**Author:** Matthias Bastian
**Source:** The Decoder
**Language:** en-US
**HTML:** https://aiqazaqstan.com/en/articles/block-s-new-ai-model-dessa-was-trained-entirely-on-human-speech-to-catch

Block, the company behind Square and Cash App, has introduced Dessa, a speech model that processes audio directly instead of converting it to text first. Dessa is designed to recognize emotions, sarcasm, and pauses in real time. The model runs locally on a MacBook Pro M4 Max but…

> From the original source: **The Decoder**
> [Read full article at The Decoder](https://the-decoder.com/blocks-new-ai-model-dessa-was-trained-entirely-on-human-speech-to-catch-emotions-text-based-models-miss/)

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