Nous Research's Hermes AI agentAn AI system that doesn't just answer once but works toward a goal in a loop — taking actions, reading the results, and deciding what to do next.Full definition → can start a voice session when it detects a wake phrase. Its documentation says listening is disabled by default. Once enabled, the detector pauses when triggered, the normal voice system records a command, and listening resumes after the reply.
The detector runs with the Hermes backend, which matters for remote setups. In the documented desktop client-capture mode, microphone audio travels to that backend before wake detection. The documentation says detection does not send audio to third-party wake APIs, but the backend's location determines whether that audio stays on the computer holding the microphone.
Terms in this piece · Glossary
AI agent — An AI system that doesn't just answer once but works toward a goal in a loop — taking actions, reading the results, and deciding what to do next.
