August 08 2008 / by AJ0111
Category: Government Year: 2020 Rating: 3
Global unification has not been welcomed in the past, biblically that is, but in the flattening world of today and tomorrow one language awaits us all: technology. 
The biblical tower of Babel is a symbol of unity. Back when everyone spoke one language it was built “for the glory of man,” and not to worship God. Stretching to the heavens, the prosperous city showcased the collective power of mankind. Angered by the audacity, God then confused human language and scattered the builders all across the Earth.
Today, we are seeing bodies like the UN functioning as unifying global entities, coordinating between countries at a higher level. In fact, futurist Ray Kurzweil predicts there will be a World Government by 2020.
This globalization faces many obstacles, the most basic of which is language. The soultion? Kurzweil argues that by 2019 language translation will be widely used. In fact, it’s already been deployed by the U.S. military. Using a program IBM developed, troops in Iraq automatically get Arabic-to-English translations. IBM is also using a program for translating television broadcasts in Arabic and Chinese.
Director of the International Center for Advanced Communication Technologies Alex Waibel says this translation technology is a decade away from being used commercially. Electrodes attached to the mouth and throat can pick up words even when they are only mouthed.
Waibel argues, “In the future, we could implant the electrodes into your mouth and throat if you want and have your mouth become multilingual.”
You’ll soon be able to wear translation goggles that overlay translated text atop your reality, he asserts.
Teaching a machine to speak through translation has many implications. According to Jack Dunietz, “In the next 20 years, a machine will pass the Turing Test by speaking fluently in everyday language and appearing as intelligent as a human to all with whom it interacts.” By 2011, we’ll be speaking to computers, and by 2021, “The Machine continues to thrive and learn from the global web of information; it is the world’s number one publisher of knowledge, and the ‘smartest’ entity on the planet.”
All that being the case, here’s a brief vision of what a near-future empowered by language translation technology:
Scenario 2012
Yuka lives in Japan and she is talking to her computer one day. After checking her messages, the computer says, “Remember when you told me about how you literally get cold feet, and how it would be great if you wore socks that moderate feet temperature? There’s a nano-engineer in France who has experience with constructing nano-embedded fabrics.” Yuka responds, “Check our schedules and try to set up a meeting next week.”
In their meeting, Yuka and Pierre decide to create a business producing fashionable temperature regulating socks, and they are to have a wide market. Yuka doesn’t speak French and Pier doesn’t speak Japanese, but this isn’t a problem as subtitles in both languages are available in their chat programs. From then on documents they create are translated in both languages and large files are easily accessible to both of them.
The machine facilitates their collaborate and find people to help with their business. They add to their team an American designer, a Persian engineer, and a Chinese manufacturer. Larger personalized computer screens allow them all to meet and talk to each other, each inputting their desired subtitles. Their marketing campaign has no cultural boundaries and is translated to languages all around the world.
The machine records a volume of information pertaining to their customers; they receive feedback, advice and ideas to design the same fabric for underwear and hats, and new features that include mosquito repellant. As their company grows their product variety grows and it begins to thrive. Their decisions are heavily guided by their customer database, and they work with each other automatically and instantly, regardless of their language.
Although national boundaries present political barriers, creative production in the future can potentially benefit every world citizen, unless this makes God angry and He decides to mix things up again.
image: Confusion of Tongues
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