Meta is working on an ambitious artificial intelligence research project to create a translation software that allows people to have more natural conversations. The announcement was made directly by the founder of the company – owner of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp – Mark Zuckerberg: “The ability to communicate with anyone in any language: it’s a superpower that people have always dreamed of and AI will deliver it to us in our lifetime.”
The project is called “CAIRaoke” and looks like “a fully end-to-end neural model for creating assistants on the device “. According to the developers, current translators work well on some languages, such as English, however 20% of the population is left out. To limit this percentage, new techniques such as translate speech in real time without the need to switch from written language (Universal Speech Translator). This feature, among other things, would be implemented in wearable devices such as augmented reality glasses.
Finally, no deadline has been indicated on the timing of the project. The only certainty is Meta’s will to break down the difficulties related to languages: “The elimination of language barriers would be profound, allowing billions of people to access information online in their native or preferred language. “
