Technology Assignment

One form of communication that will impact the professional world when fully developed is instantaneous translation. With the advanced computing technologies that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been researching, there has already been a major breakthrough with a system called MADCAT, which automatically classifies and translates documents. Currently DARPA is working on a system called Broad Operational Language Translation (BOLT). This new system will instantaneously translate foreign languages to English.

Of course, there are other companies trying to make new breakthroughs in translation. One of these companies is SpeechGear. SpeechGear’s Compadre System offers several components related to translation and speech. One component, called Interact, is on the peak of potentially making instant translation available. To use this feature, the user speaks the words he/she wants translated and the device has the ability to translate the words into the language you are requesting.

Though there are several programs available today used for translation, including Skype and Google Translate, there is still much to be figured out with translating verbal communication. Even harder than this is the ability to make it happen instantaneously. Though these programs require a large amount of development, it is interesting to think about where this new technology will take the professional world.

The biggest change this invention will bring to the professional world is the collapse of the language barrier. Without a language barrier, individuals will be able to negotiate, trade, and create partnerships much quicker than in the past. In the past, traveling abroad for business required a translator for meetings, and a pocket dictionary for looking up common phrases and words. In more recent developments, professionals have tools on smartphones to aid in translation, however this takes time to type, or say, words and phrases into smartphone. With this new technology, professionals would have the ability to travel with the ability to communicate with each individual as if they were speaking to them in a normal conversation. Of course, the biggest defining feature of this new technology is the instantaneous feature.  

Along with collapsing language barriers, this new technology will accelerate the world’s growing interconnectedness and bring globalization to a new level. Though English is the lingua franca for business, this next wave of technology will remove the need for a shared language. This will open the door for non-elites and a massive number of non-English speakers. 

Lastly, this new technology will also significantly reduce the social isolation of tens of millions around the world. There are currently robotic gloves with flex sensors that allow a deaf individual to “speak” in real time. These new technologies will allow so many to feel involved and represented in society. And overall, instantaneous translation will build a platform that opens the door to a wide range of possibilities. If these breakthroughs can bring new people into the discussion and further the act of globalization, the world as we know it will change entirely and create a broad marketplace of ideas that everyone can contribute to.