Built in a lecture hall. Useful wherever people talk.

The name comes from two words: audi, Latin for “listen”, and ken, an old word for what you know, as in “beyond my ken”. That is the whole idea. What is said in the room should become something you know.

What it is for

Speech moves at the speaker’s speed, not yours. A question goes to the room and you are still writing down the last point. A term goes by that everyone else seems to know. A deadline is mentioned once, out loud. Most tools help with this afterwards, when what was said is a recording to summarise. Audiken helps while it is still happening, and then turns the same hour into the things you work or study from.

It started with lectures, and students are still who it is built around first. But a client call, a project meeting or a conference talk has the same problem, so it works for those too.

The rules it is built to

• From your files first. Answers, documents and practice questions come from what you added and what was said. When something is general knowledge instead, it says so.
• Show the source. An answer you cannot check is a rumour. Each point names the file and page, or the session and time.
• Ask before telling. Trying to recall something is what makes it stick, so the study tools ask you first.
• Say what it cannot do. It does not predict exams, it is not always right, and it marks what it could not hear instead of guessing.
• Your work is yours. Kept in your own account, downloadable in full, and deleted when you say.

What it will not do

Audiken is not for use in tests, and it has an off switch for the moments the rules say no. It does not hide the fact that recordings include other people: ask before you record. In a lecture, use our guide to asking permission; in a meeting, say so at the start.

Where it is now

Audiken is opening to a few people at a time. If something is wrong, missing or confusing, we want to hear it: hello@audiken.com.