The Everyday Polyglot! The Exciting Intersection of AI and Language.

Hi Friends.

A Decade in Asia, Language Lessons and a Glimpse into the Future

A (long) while back, I spent nearly ten years living and working in Hong Kong, China, and Japan. It was an incredible experience.

In Hong Kong, the language barrier wasn't too difficult thanks to the widespread use of English alongside Cantonese, a legacy of British colonialism. However, China and Japan were a different story. Neither country offered much opportunity to "muddle through" without significant language assistance.

I endured countless meetings, desperately grasping at meaning from words, gestures, and tone. Sometimes a colleague would translate, but too often I felt excluded.

Everything changed on the few occasions I hired a simultaneous translator. Their real-time whispered translations, flowing seamlessly through an earpiece, were a revelation! The true nature and dynamics of the meetings were revealed, and for the first time, I could actively participate in the moment.

Imagine a world where everyone can understand and communicate freely in and between any language – a beautiful idea that might be closer than we think.

This newsletter features Digital Janet becoming a polyglot, while our Skills Shift Report delves into the exciting world of the AI Linguistic Revolution.

Enjoy!

AI SMORGASBORD

A Language Rennaissance? A language dies every 2 weeks. Can AI help save them from digital extinction–or accelerate their demise?

The Sperm Whale Alphabet: Researchers recently used algorithms to decode the “sperm whale phonetic alphabet,” revealing sophisticated structures in sperm whale communication akin to human phonetics and communication systems in other animal species.

How will Artificial Intelligence change the translation industry? Contrary to this article, I believe the capability for sophisticated, colloquial, translations of common languages is closer than anticipated and will create waves in the industry.

AI MADE EASY

Digital Janet is on a tear! Busy, busy, busy. I may well retire her after this though, as she needs a change of clothes, voice, and facial expressions, plus we have to shrink those enormous hands 🙂 Still, for her last hurrah she gets to be multi-lingual for a day. A dream come true for human Janet 🫶 

Hot off the press! Watch this demonstration of real-time translation from the newly released ChatGPT4o. Incredible!

AI SKILLS-SHIFT

A Polyglot in every pocket? Could be. And much sooner than you might imagine. Our Report looks at some of the many ways an AI Linguistic Revolution could change the workplace, and the world, as we know it.

This report was made with a very clever AI tool, Gamma.ai. Highly recommended. I’ll make a short demo video soon. If you regularly create presentations, this could be a great time and effort-saver.

WEARABLE TRANSLATORS?

Check out Look and Ask with Meta incorporated into Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Translation functions are currently limited, but these cool glasses are still handy for reading street signs and menus.

FREE RESOURCES

CURIOUS CAT

Meet Jackson Barn Cat a.k.a. JBC, office manager, resident AI-whisperer, and all-around curious cat. Each week he’ll nose bop a new challenge 😺

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