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Lei A. |
May 29, 2024
Have you ever been tongue-tied while talking with someone from a foreign country, desperately wanting to connect but held back by language? Or maybe you’ve witnessed the frustration on someone’s face when they simply can’t understand what you’re saying. These moments of disconnection fueled a fire in me, a yearning for a world where language isn’t a wall but a bridge. That’s the vision that led me to Lexcode.
From Seminary Celebration to Spark of Inspiration
I still vividly remember how I spent my day as we celebrated the annual Don Bosco Feast Day at the Sheshan Seminary. There were no dull corners: just children having fun, cheering, and enjoying the games, the food, and everything that the brothers in Instituto del Verbo Encarnado (IVE) and sisters in Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará (SSVM) prepared. Being part of the third-order group (Voces Verbi PH) had its perks, for sure: being able to witness genuine joy and precious laughter on their innocent faces. Everything seemed perfect except for one thing…
A tiny observation caught my attention. Just to give further context, most of the IVE brothers, sisters, and priests, along with the SSVM sisters and mothers, weren’t Filipino. No matter how hard they tried to connect with these young kids (mostly from underprivileged communities), language barriers remain inevitable. This barrier is like an invisible wall, muffling the chance for a deeper connection. Indeed, this instance alone was a powerful reminder of the limitations language can impose. But you know what? That experience sparked something within me—a determination to one day develop and contribute to solutions for challenges like these within our community.
And then, I bumped into Lexcode!
Just days after witnessing the disconnect because of language at the seminary, fate intervened as if the universe conspired to lead me to Lexcode (woah), a company at the forefront of natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI) technology, leading the translation industry in Asia. Their noble mission—to dismantle language barriers and transform them into gateways of opportunity—resonated deeply with my own vision.
At Lexcode, I discovered a hive of innovation where minds converged to harness the power of AI-driven translation services like LEX-Cloud, TransCreation, DeepRead, JournalLab, and the like! As I delved deeper into their initiatives in translation, I got more and more excited about the innovation awaiting ahead for interpretation.
Imagining the Future of Interpretation and Translation with Lexcode
Sometimes, it’s scary to think of what the future will look like, or it can also be the other way around. For both translation and interpretation, what I can see is an opportunity that connects people from all around the world like bridges—bridges built not with bricks and mortar but with creativity, innovation, and a mix of lines of code that could harness the limitless potential of AI, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR). Imagination has no limits!
Imagine yourself attending a business meeting where participants from all over the world can engage in a lively discussion with just the aid of a pair of stylish glasses. Your fancy glasses have overlay real-time translations directly onto the speaker’s face. In today’s generation, maybe these fancy glasses already exist in some parts of the world, but in the future, what’s in store for us would be something greater because these glasses could even handle cultural nuances and humor translated in a way that feels natural.
Imagine yourself hanging out with your virtual friends on Discord or other fun virtual spaces like Metaverse or entirely different virtual platforms that have yet to exist. Diverse participants come from various parts of the globe, and their avatars seamlessly interpret conversations, all while enjoying the feeling of being present in the same room.
Imagine using VR to enter a virtual French cafe, having coffee with a native speaker, and practicing your French in a real-world setting, all from the comfort of your living room. AR can further enhance this in the real-world setting by overlaying grammar tips and vocabulary definitions as you converse, making language learning interactive and engaging.
These are just some of the visions I see with Lexcode, where technology and language converge to create seamless real-time conversations, experiences, and communication with no more awkward silences, transcending geographical and linguistic boundaries.
But does that also imply human interpreters and translators won’t be crucial in the future?
While AI excels at processing vast amounts of data and identifying patterns in language, it could not, cannot, and will never replicate the human ability to grasp context, cultural subtleties, and nonverbal cues.
Let me be clear with this. While machine translation is suitable for straightforward, high-volume written content, it falls short when it comes to complex, critical projects that demand precision, cultural nuance, or creative expression. The same goes for interpretation. Machine interpretation can swiftly function through speech-to-text and text-to-speech features, but a human interpreter adds the finesse necessary to ensure accuracy and effectiveness.
Of course, there are challenges ahead, such as ensuring ethical AI development and potential job displacement. However, instead of being scared, let’s take this as a challenge and a way to do something for the future, even if that means getting out of our comfort zone. Besides, at the end of the day, if we want to stay significant, we have to embrace the present and fear not the future.
Let me conclude my article by reminding you of the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. That story might be a cautionary tale about the perils of a united human race speaking a single language, but its core message resonates deeply—the aspiration for seamless communication across diverse cultures.
We live in a world brimming with diversity, and the ability to understand and be understood is crucial for fostering connection and progress. Of course, this pursuit does not entail aspiring to surpass God. Instead, it’s a journey of innovation, collaboration, and, above all, a shared dream of a world united by communication, where anyone can speak to everyone.
