Africa Day 2022: Developing a more equitable tech landscape for African languages
Most of the nations of Africa have been politically independent of colonial powers for the better part of half a century now. Still, discussions at the intersections of language and technology often overlook the continent.
Using AI to assess literary and religious translations
A recent study published in the journal IEEE Access is shining light on ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) tools can be used to assess the quality of a human-created translation.
Applying corpus linguistics in the courthouse
Machine translation (MT) and natural language processing (NLP) specialists are likely to be familiar with corpus linguistics. Lawyers and judges? Not so much — at least, not yet.
24 languages added to Google Translate using zero-shot translation
f the 24 languages added to Google Translate this week, only three are available on Microsoft Translator. The addition brings the number of languages offered on Google Translate to 133.
Meta gives researchers full access to its large language model, OPT-175B
Unlike many other large language models, OPT-175B will be available for free to all researchers or institutions that request access. The company notes that this effort is an attempt to “democratize” large language models, which will allow for further research into the models’ potential benefits — and dangers — to society.
Microsoft adds Ukrainian to Reading Progress platform
Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that its Reading Progress tool — a free platform that allows teachers to assess students’ reading progress — will include Ukrainian in its list of available languages.
HelloTranslate launches, bringing new approach to translation
Rikkert Engels, owner of data migration platform Xillio, is jumping into the translation space with the launch of HelloTranslate. Available immediately, HelloTranslate brings a new solution for both clients and LSPs.
How should large language models be regulated?
A 134-page report from the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy warns researchers and policymakers alike against the potential dangers of large language models (LLMs), which have been on the rise in recent years.
Machine translation and slang: A new approach
“Slang is a predominant form of informal language making flexible and extended use of words that is notoriously hard for NLP systems to interpret,” the researchers write. “Existing approaches to slang interpretation tend to rely on context but ignore semantic extensions common in slang word usage.”