A startup claims to have launched a world-first AI speech-to-speech translation system.
As interactions spread across borders, they can become harder to understand.
Although English is the language of international business, its only spoken by an estimated17% of the world.
The remainder is often excluded from the conversation.
They range fromremote press conferences atthe Euro 2020football tournament tointerviews with astronautsat the International Space Station.
Aivia was designed to expand this client base.
At the touch of a button, the service translates speech into audio and captions in real time.
Interprefyclaims its thefirst-ever advanced automated speech translation service for online and live events.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
Many organisations and events lack the budget to book professional interpretation.
Oddmund Braaten, Interprefys CEO, has grand ambitions for Aivia.
He wants the tool to finally make simultaneous translations mainstream.
But weve still seen many organisations and events lacking the budget to book professional interpretation.
Braaten is bullish about the results.
He believesAivia isthe most accurate and flexible AI speech translator on the market.
This preps the system with relevant keywords and hard-to-catch names or abbreviations from pertinent content.
According toBraaten, thisapproach addresses two shortcomings inreal-time speech translation: inconsistent results and the needs of event organisers.
We believe weve solved both pain points, he says.
Initially, Aivia will be available in 24 languages and regional accents.
Both in-person audiences and platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and ON24 can use the service.
Interprefy plans to add many more languagesin the near future and with good reason.
Aivia offers a new solution to the problem.
Aivia arrives amid rapid advances in AI translation.
Naturally, the progress raises concerns about the future prospects for the profession.
Braaten argues that AI and humans can play complementary roles.
Furthermore, theyre the only safe option for sensitive content.
AI, meanwhile, is better suited to situations in which nuance is rare and risks are low.
In these scenarios, machine translations can provide a more affordable and practical alternative.
Yet for live events and meetings, simultaneous interpretation remains a niche service.
Braaten hopes Aivias accessibility can change that.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
