Analysis and
Technology
Artificial intelligence has removed many of the barriers to understanding a new language, but there are still good reasons to do things the old-fashioned way
AI translation apps can help you connect with other people – but at what cost?
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I have long remembered a conversation I had 20 years ago with one of my professors, an expert in what we then called artificial intelligence, which, in many ways, is wildly different to what we now call AI. In this exchange, he confidently told me there was no point learning a second language.
Computers would soon erase language barriers, he said. Not only by translating written text, but also in real time using audio, to make conversations flow smoothly even if everyone involved is…
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