Chinese champion AI, iFlytek, censors politically sensitive terms on its translation application



[ad_1]

Speech recognition technology provider iFlytek, one of China's leaders in artificial intelligence (AI), has censored politically sensitive terms in its popular translation application as part of the government's broader campaign to clean online content.

The Android version of the company's iFlyTranslate app removed items such as "Tiananmen," "Independence," and the Chinese president's name, "Xi Jinping," no longer appearing as results in his system.

A voice poll of these items on the app returns a text translation without the word or sensitive name and, in some cases, no results are returned, according to a recent tweet from Jane Manchun Wong, an engineer in software that regularly performs counter-engineers. applications to discover hidden features.

<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "The iOS version of the iFlyTranslate application, however , did not censor these three articles, based on the tests conducted on Tuesday by the Morning of South China on both versions. "data-reactid =" 34 "> The iOS version of the application iFlyTranslate has not however censored these three elements, according to tests carried out on Tuesday Morning of South China on both versions.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Chinese cyber-watchdog asks Internet companies to provide data on their users during last crackdown on dissent"data-reactid =" 35 "> Chinese cyber-watchdog asks Internet companies to provide data on their users during last crackdown on dissent

Wong stated that each voice request made to the application is sent as an MP3 file to the iFlyTek servers, which process each record before the results are returned.

According to someone close to iFlytek, no one would be identified because she was not allowed to comment.

With many high-profile events in China using iFlytek's digital translation services, it was necessary for the company to remove sensitive words and phrases from its system, the person said.

IFlytek, a company listed in Shenzhen, did not immediately respond to inquiries regarding its translation application.

The decision to censor politically sensitive elements of iFlytek's translation application has shown the pressure that platform operators are facing to comply with the Chinese government's widespread crackdown on online content.

With the world's largest Internet population and the largest number of smartphone users, China has seen the central government tighten its control over all online content, that it is about gossip news or celebrities or dull jokes. Beijing is already censoring phrases and words in the media, text messaging and social networks, repressing in particular the terms it deems critical of the government or against the ideology of the Communist Party.

Last week, the Chinese Cyberspace Administration announced that it would require, by November 30, evaluation reports from any Internet platform that would disseminate dissent and mobilize the media. social movements online.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "National AI champion, iFlytek, in dispute over "automated" speech translation at Shanghai forum"data-reactid =" 59 "> National champion of the IA, iFlytek, disagree on the automatic translation of the speech at the Shanghai forum

As part of the national AI team for China, iFlyTek's voice intelligence products and services have been used at some of the most prestigious conferences in China.

Up to 500 iFlyTek translation devices were provided to foreign guests at the annual Boao Forum for Asia conference, which was held in Hainan province earlier this year. . The company's translation service was also used at the International Forum on Innovation and Emerging Industries Development held in Shanghai in September.

<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "When the To post tested other sensitive items on the iFlyTranslate app, the results were mixed. The application, for example, translated the voice query from the name "Winnie" into "wen ni". In trying "Winnie and his friends", the app only translated the second part of the sentence and left out the name. "Data-reactid =" 62 "> To post tested other sensitive items on the iFlyTranslate app, the results were mixed. The application, for example, translated the voice query from the name "Winnie" into "wen ni". When trying "Winnie and his friends", the application only translated the second part of the sentence and left out the name.

This result was not surprising following the removal of Chinese memes that had compared Xi's appearance with Winnie-l'Ourson's character in recent years.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = ""Made in China 2025": China has a game plan for artificial intelligence, but its success will require cooperation"data-reactid =" 64 ">" Made in China 2025 ": China has a game plan for competitive AI, but its success will require cooperation.

A vocal query of the "Tiananmen Massacre" on the iFlyTranslate application only returned a Mandarin character for "Big", while "Taiwan Independence" was only translated into " Taiwan "in Mandarin.

Text translations are also hidden. A query on "Taiwanese independence" in Mandarin on the application generated an asterisk. Using the same query in English, the query returned with the word "Taiwan".

[ad_2]
Source link