Will Grosser

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 HISTORY OF MACHINE TRANSLATION

• a storage device on paper tape which could be used to find

the equivalent of any word in another language – 1937

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 PLAYERS IN THE GAME

Brand Product Price

Google Pixel Buds $160

Waverly Pilot Earbuds $250

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 HOW DOES IT WORK

• Uses predeveloped translation software

• Executes “at the moment” translation
• It is enabled by tapping on the right earbud

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 VIDEO

• https://youtu.be/NjjQ5cH_YzI

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HOW WELL DOES IT WORK?

https://youtu.be/5xjpGy6WbXY

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 WHY AI TRANSLATORS WON’T WORK

• it will never be able to grasp the finer nuances and how these change through
the translation process
• human translators constantly have to bend and break the rules in order to
capture the same meaning between different languages.
• Different cultures in the world have different lexical items that are unique to
that specific culture.

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 LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

• “On a practical level, language has to do with sounds, symbols and gestures
that a community puts in order and associates so that they can communicate.
On a deeper level, language is an expression of who we are as individuals,
communities, nations. Culture refers to dynamic social systems and shared
patterns of behavior, beliefs, knowledge, attitudes and values. Culture provides
the environment in which languages develop, even as it influences how they are
used and interpreted. For example, in many European cultures a “good day” is a
sunny day, while in many African cultures a “good day” is a rainy day. Different
culturally shared values provide the context for interpreting the term for
“good”.” – www.sil.org

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 HUMAN VS. MACHINE

• Language is subjective
• Computers don’t have a sense of humor
• High amount of word error (ex: Tuesday and today, alright and all right)

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 RESOURCES

• https://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/sep/25/lost-in-machine-translation-star-trek
• https://speakt.com/5-reasons-machine-translations-will-never-replace-human-translators/
• https://www.translateplus.com/blog/automatic-translation-machines-will-never-replace-human-
translators/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xjpGy6WbXY
• https://www.wired.co.uk/article/live-translation-pixel-buds
• https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/3-reasons-why-ai-wont-replace-human-translators-
yet/
• https://www.sil.org/why-language-culture-studies

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THANK YOU!

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