By 2040, will there be audio translation tech that's a full substitute for knowing a foreign language?
13
1kṀ345
2040
90%
chance

This question will resolve to YES if there's some sort of an audio translation technology that gives the user a comparable experience to being a fluent speaker in a foreign language. The tech should meet the following criteria:

  • Can be reasonably worn by an adult person, so <0.5 kg in weight

  • Works in areas with poor or no internet connectivity

  • Works in situations with lots of external noise being present, such as a busy restaurant or a ferry ride, not just in perfect lab conditions

  • The tech can use just microphones alone or a combination of audio and video

  • The translation quality should be so good that one could reasonably go study in a foreign country or conduct negotiations in a foreign language by just relying on it.

  • The translation should work in both directions (speaking and listening)

  • The device should work even if only the primary user is wearing/using it, it cannot require everyone present to own said device

  • Works for real-world, imperfect speech, not just for fully articulated speech without any mistakes. If a fluent speaker can make sense of it, so should this tech.

  • Its sufficient if it works for just one language pair (i.e. English-Spanish or English-Mandarin)

The final experience should somewhat resemble getting an instant audio-feed from a professional interpreter at the UN, for both speaking and listening.

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