Page 148 - Fortune-November 01, 2018

ar tifi c i al intelli gence + how we work

GETTING US ALL TOSPEAK

THE SAME LANGUAGE

EVER SINCE THE GOLDEN
age of the originalDoctor Who
and Star Trek, science fiction
has highlighted devices that
can automatically translate
languages so that humans can
talk to aliens without needing
to study far-out dialects. It
turns out that companies here
on Earth, like Google, are using
artificial intelligence technolo-
gies to create devices that can
translate conversations from
one language to another. While
Google’s recently released
Pixel Buds is a promising start,
consider the ways businesses
could use the technology when
it works seamlessly. Ameri-
can executives could call up
their Portuguese-speaking
counterparts and brainstorm
global partnerships on the fly.
Businesses with international
offices could more effectively
communicate with employees,
who could work in tandem with
colleagues in other countries
who don’t speak the same
language. Salespeople could
scout for potential leads in new
regions and make cold calls
that could bring about their
next game-changing deal.
Although many companies
have instituted an English-
only policy as a way to keep
employees speaking the same
lingo, on-the-fly translation
technology lets non-U.S.
employees speak their mother
tongues and retain aspects
of their cultures—a benefit in
this era of globalization.
—Jonathan Vanian

34%

PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO BELIEVED
THEY HAD INTERACTED WITH A.I., ACCORDING
TO A STUDY BY PEGASYSTEMS.
(PERCENTAGE WHO ACTUALLY HAD: 84%)

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