The Metaverse is supposed to connect people all over the world and thus enable global and borderless communication. At least, that’s Mark Zuckerberg’s plan. But to make that possible, language barriers must first be torn down. To do this, according to recent reports, Meta is using a unique AI that will be the basis for a universal translation system.
We’ve only seen universal translators in sci-fi movies like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or from startups that have developed wearables for this purpose, but a truly functional and impressive version has not yet been available.
However, to make the next generation of the Internet, the metaverse, a real success, such technology is needed, enabling new ways of communication for billions of people. Meta wants to make this possible by making all information understandable to everyone in their native language and by making real-time translation a possibility.
Meta’s big goal: direct speech-to-speech translation without prior transcription. As exemplified by the Babelfish. This is a great opportunity, especially for virtual reality and augmented reality, because it is the only way for communities to really grow together. In an event, Zuckerberg once again clearly emphasized the importance of translation AI and said that people from different cultures should meet in the metaverse, but that they should not discover any problems in communication, but rather experience social VR in its pure form.
