ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE is rapidly overcoming the language challenges of international business events.
A recent tech conference in Seoul saw Korean-speaking moderator JP Lee, of venture capital firm SBVA, and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman hold a seamless bilingual conversation on stage – without the use of a human interpreter.
The exchange was powered by EventCAT, a real-time AI translation platform developed by Silicon Valley-based company XL8.
The company says its platform’s latest update enables two-way live speech translation, allowing speakers of different languages to engage in natural dialogue with real-time subtitles and optional audio translation.
During the event’s Fireside Chat, Lee and Brockman conversed fluently, each receiving instant translations of the other’s speech via discreet screens, according to a statement by XL8 on the latest enhancements to its EventCAT platform.
Attendees followed the conversation with live subtitles displayed on large screens or accessed them on their mobile devices via QR code. For those preferring to listen, EventCAT offered audio translations in 43 languages, streamed directly to headphones or earbuds.
“Subtitles are incredibly helpful, but there’s something powerful about hearing a message in your own language,” said Rosa Lee, XL*’s head of marketing. “That’s why we introduced voice translation, because it’s what our users have been asking ”
More… Vok Dams’ TrendLab shows AI potential
The platform’s new features also include a contextual AI engine that can be pre-trained with event materials, improving translation accuracy for technical, academic, legal, or medical content.
“This has already proven valuable for universities and nonprofits seeking cost-effective multilingual solutions,” an XL8 spokesperson said.
EventCAT’s capabilities extend beyond live venues. In virtual settings such as Zoom webinars, participants can select their preferred language and hear real-time translations, XL8 added. For streamed events on platforms such as YouTube, live captions are available in multiple languages.
