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Steven Schwaitzberg: A universal translator for surgeons
Thread poster: Umang Dholabhai
Umang Dholabhai
Umang Dholabhai  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 17:27
Member
English to Gujarati
+ ...
Jan 28, 2013

I would like to share this TED video link with you. Steven Schwaitzberg shares how a new technology, which combines video conferencing and a real-time universal translator, could help.

<... See more
I would like to share this TED video link with you. Steven Schwaitzberg shares how a new technology, which combines video conferencing and a real-time universal translator, could help.

http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_schwaitzberg_a_universal_translator_for_surgeons.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2013-01-27&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email ▲ Collapse
 
Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 13:57
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
Why? Jan 28, 2013

Medical students all over the world are highly educated and will understand and speak English. University classes at this level are held in English also in non-English countries.
Automated translation without human interference will not deliver.
 
Cetacea
Cetacea  Identity Verified
Switzerland
Local time: 12:57
English to German
+ ...
Appalled Jan 28, 2013

Mr. Schwaitzberg may be well intentioned, but he has obviously no idea whatsoever about the (shall we call them) imperfections of machine translation. Just the idea of undergoing surgery performed by someone who was trained this way makes me physically ill. If he proposed this project for one language pair only, it would be highly ambitious to say the least. But a universal translator?! The only time a universal translator ever worked was on Star Trek...
 
Umang Dholabhai
Umang Dholabhai  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 17:27
Member
English to Gujarati
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Sad Jan 29, 2013

It is saddening to realize that TED viewers, thousands of them might start thinking that this is for real. I agree with Cetacea and Heinrich.
 
LilianNekipelov
LilianNekipelov  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:57
Russian to English
+ ...
Good luck with distant translators for surgeons. Jan 29, 2013

I would just advise the patients to make their last will. And preferably pre-arrange their own funerals.
 
Catherine GUILLIAUMET
Catherine GUILLIAUMET  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:57
English to French
+ ...
In memoriam
"Medical Translation Insight" publishes an article on that Universal Translator Jan 29, 2013

Hello,

Today's issue of the blog Medical Translation Insight is about that universal translator.

Title of the article The amazing race to a universal translator

See here : http://blog.fxtrans.com/2013/01/the-amazing-race-to-universal-translator_29.html

Have a nice evening

Catheri... See more
Hello,

Today's issue of the blog Medical Translation Insight is about that universal translator.

Title of the article The amazing race to a universal translator

See here : http://blog.fxtrans.com/2013/01/the-amazing-race-to-universal-translator_29.html

Have a nice evening

Catherine ▲ Collapse
 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 12:57
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Does anyone else have trouble with homonyms? Jan 29, 2013

The difference between UTs and humans is that humans really are intelligent.

Computers simulate, statistically, and sometimes get away with it.

This Monday there was a hilarious post in the Danish forum - a client wanted a Google translation 'manicured' so that it could serve as a user manual for some electronic equipment.

It had trouble with a perch (Perca fluviatilis, the fish) swimming about -- spelt roughly the same as bass in Danish

Volume... See more
The difference between UTs and humans is that humans really are intelligent.

Computers simulate, statistically, and sometimes get away with it.

This Monday there was a hilarious post in the Danish forum - a client wanted a Google translation 'manicured' so that it could serve as a user manual for some electronic equipment.

It had trouble with a perch (Perca fluviatilis, the fish) swimming about -- spelt roughly the same as bass in Danish

Volume as in book or tome
Default = neglect
Smart upgrade became a painful improvement...

And a whole lot more that I can't back translate easily.
____________

I had a tale about business executives going around in shorts for security reasons. In chilly Copenhagen and Stockholm...
(Actually, they were carrying ID cards, but never mind!)

All very funny, but then nobody's life depended on it.

At least sometimes, humans ask for help if they can't make sense of the context instinctively!
Have these people talked to insurance brokers? ▲ Collapse
 


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Steven Schwaitzberg: A universal translator for surgeons







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