Mr Speaker is an audio-first news platform that aims to make professional investigative journalism more engaging. The resulting concept of my Master's Thesis project in Interaction Design is an audio-based participatory news platform and voice interface device that uses artificial intelligence to connect the user with journalists and the users with each other.

The design outcome includes a physical home speaker product that both speaks and listens, and a mobile application. This concept shows how artificial intelligence might help people to have more intelligent conversations about the important issues in society as a force for change.

Mr Speaker envisions the following:
- How we might monitor and understand long-running news stories
- How we might have more meaningful conversations about these stories with the help of an intelligent personal agent and knowledge navigator
-How a voice interface product for the home might look and function in the near future

The goal of this thesis project was to explore how people could connect with each other AND with significant stories that are happening in their community.

Investigative journalism, typically a slower yet deeper form of news, is now considered a luxury for newsrooms and is in need of a new business model. I aimed to design an ideal user experience concept focusing on investigative journalism in the context of the near future, when voice interfaces are smarter, faster, and more personal. I have prioritised the news user's needs and wishes through a participatory design process while still keeping the news producers business goals in mind.