SlatorPod

Longyue Wang, a Research Scientist at Tencent AI Lab, discusses the advancements in Chinese-to-English machine translation and the challenges in translating Chinese to non-English languages. He explores the impact of large language models (LLMs) on machine translation, including their superiority in document-level translation. Longyue also highlights various promising research directions for LLMs in machine translation, such as stylized MT, interactive MT, and translation memory-based MT. Additionally, he sheds light on Chinese researchers' efforts to build Chinese-centric MT engines and reduce reliance on English as a pivot language.

Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news, including NWN Carousel's contract providing AI-powered multilingual emergency services. They also discuss Meta's new language model Llama 2 and its limitations. Financial results of Straker Translations and ZOO Digital are examined. M&A activity includes ElaN Languages acquiring Lingua-World and LanguageWire acquiring Delingua. Funding news covers Phrase and Language I/O.

Florian Stègre, the Founder of Checksub, discusses their SaaS platform for subtitling and dubbing. Topics include animated subtitles, voice cloning, bootstrapping, AI research, team skill development, and future plans for user experience and AI dubbing.

Rocio Martinez, VP of Language Services at Jellyfish, joins SlatorPod to talk about the role of creative content localization at the digital marketing agency. Rocio explains that while the language services team at Jellyfish function as an LSP, their positioning in the market is broader, and they act as an internal solution provider that supports the various divisions within Jellyfish. She emphasizes the importance of connecting every part of the creative process, from creation to adaptation, and monitoring performance and optimization.Rocio provides an overview of J+ Creative, a proprietary set of tools that assist their teams in the production and localization process, including workflow management, deliveries, approvals, and version control.Rocio talks about the use of back translations in transcreation, primarily for creative content that requires significant adaptation from the source material. Rocio shares how finding the right copywriting talent and linguists can be a challenge, especially for rare languages or specific sectors.Rocio discusses the potential of large language models and generative AI tools for content generation and localization. She mentions that Jellyfish is actively testing and integrating AI tools, focusing on improving workflows, and considering prompt engineering to enhance content generation.Regarding the future, Jellyfish's initiatives revolve around AI, with specialist teams being trained to identify opportunities and implement them across marketing capabilities. Rocio also mentions the potential of Pencil, a generative AI tool for content and asset creation.

Graham Neubig, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, discusses his research on multilingual natural language processing and machine translation. He compares large language models with special-purpose machine translation models, highlighting GPT-3.5 Turbo's cost advantage. He predicts companies will use general-purpose LLMs and fine-tune them for specific tasks. The podcast also covers speech-to-speech machine translation system releases and Graham's startup, Inspired Cognition, focused on improving AI systems.

Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news over the past month, with ChatGPT traffic hitting its peak in May 2023 and large language models being released left, right, and center. The EU Commission (EC) unveiled the launch of a pilot program that will see the EC use its own machine translation tool to translate certain press releases. In mid-June, media localization company Dotsub announced it had ceased operations, due to its current liquidity situation. In more positive news, Microsoft's beloved Language Portal has made a comeback after the company announced that it would be shut down at the end of June. Over in M&A, XL8 has acquired AHT to diversify and grow its customer base to US government agencies. Also branching out is RWS as it bought legal and legislative content management system Propylon for a total purchase price of USD 47.3m.Meanwhile, in funding, Czech localization startup Localazy announced at the end of June that they raised EUR 1m. Voice generation platform, Eleven Labs, announced it had raised USD 19m in a Series A round. 

Deepdub Co-founder and CEO, Ofir Krakowski, joins SlatorPod to talk about the AI dubbing platform’s goal to make content more accessible through automation and human collaboration.Ofir’s experience in the Israeli Air Force's machine learning and innovation department led him to use his knowledge in deep learning and generative AI to co-found Deepdub with his brother, Nir.The CEO outlines the importance of human creativity in translation and how they have built a platform that incorporates both AI solutions and human curation. When it comes to AI dubbing, Deepdub prioritizes authentic and natural-sounding voices and incorporates domain-specific technologies to improve translation accuracy.Ofir recognizes the impact of generative AI, exemplified by ChatGPT, and emphasizes the importance of building a product rather than just a technology. The company actively engages with organizations such as the BFFS, a union for artists, to find ways to combine human talent with technology.While Deepdub serves enterprise customers in the entertainment industry, they also cater to professional audiovisual creators by making the dubbing process more readily accessible through their recently launched SaaS product Deepdub GO.Looking ahead, Deepdub plans further language expansion, with a focus on addressing the diverse linguistic landscape of countries like India.

ICON plc’s Senior Vice President of Commercialisations & Outcomes, Brian Mallon, joins SlatorPod to shed light on the crucial role of language services within clinical research organizations (CROs). Brian recounts ICON's growth journey, from a team of five in Dublin back in 1990 to its present-day workforce of over 41,000 across 50 countries. Brian outlines the clinical cycle for drugs or medical treatments, which consists of several phases aimed at evaluating safety, efficacy, dosage, and potential side effects before making them available to the public.Brian reveals how language services play a vital role in improving clinical trials by enhancing the quality of data, reaching a more diverse patient population, and increasing retention and access to trials. He shares how medical translation and linguistic validation in clinical research require expertise in medical terminology and cultural nuances of the target language.Brian talks about how ICON led an industry-wide shift towards insourcing language services instead of relying on external language service providers. Key motivators include cost savings, increased efficiency, faster turnaround times, and the importance of data security and confidentiality.Brian explains how the cost of failure in translations is high, as errors can impact patient safety, regulatory compliance, and the overall success of the research. To manage these risks, ICON’s Language Services team implements stringent quality assurance processes, audits, and ongoing training.When it comes to the EU Clinical Trial Regulation and Clinical Trial Information System, Brian believes it has not had a major impact on language services in terms of volumes. However, the expectation is that over time, these regulations will improve the efficiency of conducting trials in Europe and make the EU more attractive for large-scale clinical trials.The pod rounds off with Brian’s view on the role of AI in the life sciences market and ICON’s  "string of pearls" approach when it comes to broadening its capability in line with industry trends in the life sciences sector.

Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, covering key takeaways from SlatorCon Remote such as lip sync AI dubbing demos from NeuralGarage and how FIFA and DeepL tackle sports localization. After unveiling its first-half results for 2023, RWS CEO Ian El-Mokadem emphasized the advantages of utilizing AI and large language models (LLMs) to enhance existing products. In M&A, Unbabel has completed its second acquisition of 2023 by acquiring Bablic, to expand its website and marketing localization solutions.AI video generation platform, Synthesia, has secured USD 90m in funding at a billion-dollar valuation for its multilingual avatars. One other unicorn, Cohere, has raised USD 270m in a Series C funding round, bringing the total raised amount to USD 445m. The duo do a SWOT analysis of what LLM capabilities mean for the language industry, specifically for LSPs, TMS providers, machine translation providers, and linguists. 

Farbod Mansorian, CEO of Unilingo, discusses launching the leading dubbing provider for Youtube creators, connecting with popular creators at YouTube conferences, challenges faced by voice actors, pros and cons of YouTube's multitrack audio feature, and the importance of grabbing viewers' attention in the first 10-20 seconds of a video.