If you're a technologist looking for ways to save the world, enabling communication between people of different countries is about as important a task as you can find. The web was a good first step, but language is still a barrier. Being unable to communicate with someone dehumanizes them. Automatic translation isn't going to automatically bring about world peace (and it isn't going to automatically enable us to transcend cultural barriers), but it's an enormously important next step.
I criticize Google and Microsoft a lot, and I will continue to do so when necessary, but I applaud their efforts toward this goal, especially since there's so little financial incentive to do so. Even if this product is as limited in practice as I suspect, it's heartening to see such crucial technology mature.
I criticize Google and Microsoft a lot, and I will continue to do so when necessary, but I applaud their efforts toward this goal, especially since there's so little financial incentive to do so. Even if this product is as limited in practice as I suspect, it's heartening to see such crucial technology mature.