Translating diversity
It is undoubted that, in the fast-paced market of technological innovation, a multitude of AI-driven translation tools are undergoing swift development. Recently, SK Telecom introduced TransTalker, an AI-powered translation program capable of providing real-time interpretation in 13 languages.
The Samsung Galaxy S24’s Live Translate feature contributes to breaking down language barriers by using large language models capable of understanding, interpreting and generating text that mimics human language across a wide range of languages and contexts.
Breaking language barriers and facilitating communication through AI is capable of bringing huge benefits to many but we should not ignore the matter of the impact of LLMs.
Of the roughly 7,000 languages used worldwide, a significant number are at risk of extinction, leading to a gradual decline every year.
The United Nations states that an Indigenous language vanishes every two weeks. Languages like Hawaiian, Quechua and Potawatomi are among those at a critical risk of extinction due to factors like globalization, migration and cultural homogenization. At present, roughly nine languages disappear each year.
However, LLMs could significantly accelerate this rate of extinction.
The proliferation of the internet, combined with years of globalization that pushed for the standardization of the English language, made it the global language for business, politics, science, sports and entertainment.
So interestingly enough, even though more than half of all websites are in English, over 80 percent of people worldwide don’t speak it.
Language development represents one of the most crucial intellectual leaps in human history. It empowers us to generate thoughts, share them with others, think in abstract terms and construct intricate concepts about the world and its possibilities, fostering their progression across generations and geographies. Without language, much of modern civilization would be unattainable. Yet, this issue extends beyond language alone.
If the majority of languages vanish within a few generations, it would cause a collapse in the diversity of thought and identity. Since language and the mind influence each other reciprocally, the loss of languages implies the loss of distinct ways of thinking and experiencing the world.
Language plays a key role in structuring, organizing and processing information.
The languages we use affect how we see the world, how we make memories, the choices we make, the emotions we experience and the knowledge we gather.
Not only that, but language also serves as a powerful medium for cultural expression and personal identity.
This notion was vividly depicted in the bilingual Korean-English film “Past Lives.”
The movie shows how a person is deeply linked with the language they speak, where different languages can convey different sides of an individual.
Through its exploration of the untranslatable Korean term “inyeon” — a term linked with a romanticized concept of eternal love — the movie delves deep into the complexities of communication and the cultural significance of language.
Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI suggested in a TED talk to think of AI as a kind of digital species.
AI isn’t biological in any traditional sense. However they speak in human languages, understand our visuals, process enormous volumes of data, have memory, exhibit personality, show creativity, reason to a certain extent and even make basic plans.
He stated that to say AI is mainly about math or code is like saying humans are primarily about carbon and water.
So, as much as AI translation tools are, in fact, facilitating communication on a massively global scale, we should not forget the anthropological value of human language and how much invaluable history the diversity of language holds for humanity.