Live Translation by Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is capable of translating video conversations in real time, just like human interpreters. Until recently this would have sounded like science fiction. Imagine making a video call to an individual who lives on the other side of the world. That person speaks only in Japanese, but through your headphones you hear their words in English, or Spanish, or whatever language you choose. It’s similar to having a live simultaneous translator, but there is no human involved - just AI. Kudo is a company that provides translators for corporate clients, and they are now starting to use this type of AI translation. It is not yet quite as good a human translator, but the differences are minor. The AI voice sounds robotic and there is a slight extra delay - human interpretation usually has a delay of five to seven seconds, whereas the AI delay is around 10 seconds. Kudo explains that they are working to improve these areas, and that in situations where 100% accuracy is required a human interpreter will always be the best option. For example, “In the European Parliament artificial systems will probably not be used, but in smaller meetings this solution can be effective.”