Localization Today

On Jan. 24, KUDO held a launch event announcing its forthcoming artificial intelligence (AI)-powered speech-to-speech translation tool, KUDO AI.

Generative AI tools have arrived, quite loudly, onto center stage, and in my opinion, this is not just part of another tech hype cycle. Rather, they deserve our eager applause. 

A California-based language service provider (LSP) is in hot water this week, after reports came out that the company provided the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with nonsensical translations into Indigenous languages.

Cologne-based DeepL has announced the beta launch of DeepL Write, an AI-powered authoring tool intended to improve texts by fixing errors and making suggestions for word replacements while keeping an eye on style, grammar and formatting. 

BLEND, a Tel Aviv-based language service provider (LSP) specializing in localization and translation, recently unveiled its 2022 Hall of Fame initiative to highlight some of the year’s most successful and creative localization projects.

Mobeus, a London-based investment firm, supported The Translation People’s MBO as a platform investment, making its first investment in the language services industry. 

In its most recent call for submissions (which opens Monday, Jan. 9), the ICML included a note in its “Ethics” section prohibiting the use of text generated by ChatGPT and other LLMs, unless “presented as part of the paper’s experiential analysis.”

Knowing when to make a change in strategy is possible only when clients or prospects trust their provider enough to give honest feedback. And sometimes providers just try something new because they believe in it, and measure success as they do so. These are the trailblazers, but they do this at a huge risk — reputationally and financially. Marketing and experienced media agencies can help analyze markets, provide special opportunities, and recommend ways to stand out with your marketing.

A recent study published by the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Institute found that Asian Americans with limited English proficiency (LEP) face unique language barriers compared to other groups with high levels of LEP.

Software is often the external face of the company. Many people interact with the company exclusively through the software. But what if your software biases some employees to be more successful than others?