Artificial intelligence: Technology can make us speak another language

A few days ago I shared, through my social networks, a video that surprised some of my contacts because it was totally out of the ordinary: I appeared making a comment, lasting one minute, speaking in English with a fairly good pronunciation and fluency. hello good. The weird thing is, in real life, I’ve never been able to do it. Everything was a product of artificial intelligence.

It was the same software with which, a few days before, another video had been made that went viral on the web, in which Lionel Messi appeared speaking in English. Its name is HeyGen and it allows, among many other functions,

Let’s do it

I signed up for the service and tried it. I recorded the one-minute video directly from the computer and waited a little longer while the system processed the material to accommodate the language I had requested.

In this specific role, HeyGen’s artificial intelligence has several tasks to fulfill. As for the audio, you must first But things get a little more complicated, because the software analyzes that original sound and the translated version shows it with a tone of voice that is as similar as possible.

And, if that were not enough, there is a visual component that must also be changed. The AI ​​analyzes the video and, in the final product, modifies the images by creating artificial mouth movements to match each word spoken.

So, the final product is very impressive:

It seems wonderful, right? But in reality, the tool has several limitations. For example, during the recording I intentionally gesticulated a lot and touched my face many times. As expected, even though in the original recording I was still talking.

On the other hand, as with similar programs that use artificial intelligence, it is necessary to pay to access these tools. So, yes, they are available to anyone, but

What’s coming

This is just one example – because there are many more – of how quickly the development of artificial intelligence continues to advance, especially in the creation of tools that can be used every time by anyone. If I can publish one of my videos in another language, I wouldn’t be surprised if that can be done soon (if it isn’t already being done).

But, on the other hand, it reinforces my position on the need for there to be a serious and adequate conversation at the national and international level about the implication of the use of this new technology. Companies will continue to develop their products, but

We are seeing how easy it is to create and falsify information, even in multimedia formats. We cannot stop the advance of artificial intelligence and nor should we.