Which sentence is correct:
..to extend the current knowledge of speech perception.
..to extend current knowledge of speech perception.
I know that knowledge is an uncountable noun. However, if we define this knowledge to belong to speech perception, then we are talking about something specific and we need to add "the". Am I correct?
No, you are not correct that it is necessary for grammatical reasons to add 'the'. You provide no context but as they stand both usages could be quite acceptable. If you include the 'the' it gives rise to the question of whose knowledge in particular. So "Because government has not had to deal with AI, I am seeking to extend the knowledge of that subject there". But you could equally say :"My fundamental research seeks to extend knowledge of AI."
