Google's universal translator is smart balcony in the middle of the year dominated by artificial intelligence

The use of artificial intelligence has been one of the most controversial topics of the past year. Programs that used machine learning, such as Amazon's recruitment tool, proved to be biased against women. Others were dangerously poorly developed, such as the Predictim system, which performed a risk badysis related to childcare. Even big tech companies have positioned themselves to claim that facial recognition was out of control and even called for regulation. It is therefore logical that Google bet early 2019 on an artificial intelligence solution that will take us to one of the big dreams of science fiction: a universal translator.

At CES 2019, Google introduced a series of updates for Google Assistant. The most important is a new interpretation feature for smart screens and smart speakers, which allows the real-time translation of 27 languages. Strictly speaking, it is still far from a universal translator, since it still lacks 5,970 languages. And, look, it works well, depending on who had access to this new feature.

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To use it, just say "Hey Google, be my Chinese translator" to get the performer mode in spoken mode or written in case of smart displays.

Sam Rutherford of Gizmodo is at CES and speaks Mandarin.

This may not seem so serious, because the linguistic translation has been around for a while now and for some time now. The online Google translator is already very good (the tool started in 2006, but only started working with deep learning neural networks in 2016). However, it is something important. We are already tired of incremental progress, and the concept of universal translator has a concept of pop culture and technology – it is at the forefront of technological dreams that end decades ago. Babel Fish, universal translator of "The Guide to the Hitchhiker of Galaxies", is as present as Hall 9000 or tricorder, and the idea of ​​such a tool is as inspiring as it is influential .

In 2012, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that science fiction was becoming a reality, citing the "Star Trek" translation systems and the "Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxies". It's a holy grail, because fantasy dreams directly guide tech companies to higher levels. All major companies are currently investing in translation. They all want to be Babel Fish – if not for profit, only by pride and by the satisfaction of achieving that goal. Even at the Magic Leap conference last year, one of the most common conversations was to write translated words in real time to display them on the company's augmented reality glbades.

The most important of all is that universal translation is perceived as a universal good and therefore without controversy. This is, I think, one of the few uses of artificial intelligence that no one doubts that will offer a relevant cultural benefit. There will undoubtedly be reservations and complexities, but in general, such a tool will improve communication between cultures – it is important to note that there are thousands of interpreters / translators in the world who can lose their jobs, as well as confidentiality issues. the conversation of users in the cloud.

Some hotels in the United States already have a smart display with the performer mode, such as Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. A few years ago, when I was in China for work, one of the most interesting moments was the use of Baidu's translation application to talk to a driver taxi working conditions in the country. It's something that happened even five years ago – it's a pure case of technology allowing a connection that was previously unthinkable.