r/MachineLearning: Full Duplex vs Half Duplex — The Architecture Spectrum That Defines the Next Generation of AI Voice Models

A r/MachineLearning post maps AI voice models across a spectrum from strict half-duplex turn-taking — how nearly every voice assistant works today — to full-duplex simultaneous bidirectional audio, arguing the architectural choice determines the entire conversational feel rather than just latency. The post explains why full-duplex requires continuous speaker activity modeling and interrupt handling that half-duplex systems can ignore, and frames it as a product tradeoff: half-duplex is easier to build and debug but permanently limits the conversational feel ceiling. Useful framing as voice AI becomes a production deployment decision for agent builders.