Have you heard that Meta, parent company of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp is building a killer app for its future?
If you haven’t, here is the gist.
Meta has announced plans to work on an AI-powered project which is a universal speech translator.
It says that the AI plan would be a top strategy for the future of Metaverse.
CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, commented on the plan during an online presentation.
He says that everyone in the world would be able to access each other when they can understand a language that is not theirs.
In his words, “The ability to communicate with anyone in any language — that’s a superpower people have dreamed of forever, and AI is going to deliver that within our lifetimes”.
The company had noted that tools were already translating some common languages like English, French, Spanish.
However, about 20% of people worldwide don’t speak these common languages.
They speak languages that don’t have text translations, and there is no written text to train the AI systems.
Also, some of these languages don’t have a standardised format in writing them.
And so they aren’t recognised, and they become underserved.
In Meta’s words, it wants to overcome these challenges and plans on using new machine techniques.
The techniques would be used in two areas.
Meta would use AI devices that can learn to translate languages without much training as its first method.
And the second is to create an AI software that can translate speech in real-time without any intermediary.
The existing translators require a written script to serve as an intermediary before translating.
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Meta’s Announcement Post
Meta researchers said Meta wants to make it possible for billions of people to access information online in their preferred language.
As language is a barrier, they might not understand these popular languages in which some information are written.
Also, the development will help change the way people connect and share ideas in the world.
AI Translator, Metaverse and other products
Meta might also have other plans than solving problems.
It mentioned in its blog that the translator might be a big breakthrough for the company’s future.
Also, it believes that the AI translator would help further the reach of its products.
People can be able to interact better on its platforms.
For its wearable devices such as AR glasses, the translator software would be a game-changer for it.
It would help break down the boundaries that have been put up in the VR and AR space.
Implication for readers
If the device is going to be released, as Meta says, this would benefit the world.
Many other things could start popping up from this.
People would be able to hold business deals without so many barriers.
Although Meta has stated that the company has no specific timeline for the project’s conclusion.
But its plans are ongoing. To know more about this project, check out Meta’s blog.
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