With so much ado about ChatGPT, it would be easy to miss the ways artificial intelligence is changing not only written communications but also the realm of speech in 2023, yet advances in voice AI show the potential to prove just as impactful as the omnipresent chatbot.
Out of view, voice technology has advanced rapidly from a promising new capability to a feature of mainstream applications far beyond the call center interactions we are all too familiar with. For language service providers aware of the shift, voice AI presents an important new frontier impacting many of the most important localization and translation services we offer to businesses across industries and sectors as they communicate in more dynamic channels and with a greater diversity of language needs than ever before.
From cross-cultural branding to global customer service, multilingual speech AI has the potential to revolutionize industries including entertainment, media, healthcare, education, and many more. To speak only of its potential, however, ignores how it is already an active part of the communications landscape, often in more ways than consumers realized they are interacting with. In 2022, we looked at the rise of automated dubbing and subtitling in multimedia and entertainment, when the technology provided a robust way to accelerate film localization and reach audiences in languages few linguists were available to assist with. Far from the sole purposes of entertainment, though, multilingual dubbing is an essential commodity for brands creating video or eLearning content for their global audiences and stakeholders.
Whether delivering a training course into multiple regions or engaging consumers online, voice AI offers localization clients a greater range of voice preferences than even a large team of voice actors might be able to provide, and can even replicate a particular person’s tone for a script voiceover input as text. Simply put, it has never been easier to craft native-sounding voiceovers in any language without relying on human speakers. Still, rather than a replacement for, voice AI has become an integral tool of entertainment localization. As before, technical solutions like voice AI are best leveraged in partnership with experienced localization professionals able to deliver seamless quality as the final output.
Many are rightly focused on the voice AI applications in healthcare, for instance with multilingual speech systems that can help medical professionals communicate with patients who speak different languages. Beyond reducing language barriers and improving access to healthcare services, voice AI has the potential to alleviate strains on resources and even assist communications among health care workers. One commentor this week proposes voice AI as a path to a “superclinician”, focusing on the impact of scalable automation to improve the experiences of medical professionals and health care facilities. However, given the sensitivity of medical communications and the need for the utmost accuracy, automating speech communications in health care will continue to show more limited applications when crossing languages than in monolingual settings. Notably, voice AI does not presently provide an alternative to live human interpretation, making OPI and medical interpreting a crucial human service that requires the support of a communication partner able to connect professional interpreters instantaneously. Meanwhile, medical translation plays a vital role in the quality of medical documentation that systems leveraging AI will work with in diverse settings presenting patient data in multiple languages.
As voice technology extends in more business sectors, language services as an industry present some of the most abundant uses for this powerful new technology. As a global provider of technology-driven translation and localization solutions, CSOFT’s platforms enable us to deliver AI-powered voice translations and audiovisual localization solutions in hundreds of languages with customizable quality and rapid turnaround speeds. Whether extending your brand videos to new audiences, adapting your courses for learners in new languages, or leveraging speech technology in multiple languages, CSOFT can help capture the original meaning of your content while ensuring consistency in all of your target regions.
To learn more about our full range of localization solutions or to contact us today, visit csoftintl.com.
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