32.1755, FYI: 'The Dawn of the Human-Machine Era': Forecast Report on New and Emerging Language Technologies

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-32-1755. Wed May 19 2021. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 32.1755, FYI: 'The Dawn of the Human-Machine Era': Forecast Report on New and Emerging Language Technologies

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Date: Wed, 19 May 2021 08:52:00
From: Dave Sayers [dave.sayers at cantab.net]
Subject: 'The Dawn of the Human-Machine Era': Forecast Report on New and Emerging Language Technologies

 
The 'human-machine era' is coming soon: a time when technology is integrated
with our senses, not confined to mobile devices. The hardware will move from
our hands into our eyes and ears. Intelligent eyewear and earwear will be able
to translate another person's words, and make it look and sound like they were
talking to you in your language. Technology will mediate what we see, hear and
say, in real time. In addition, we will be having increasingly complex
conversations with smart devices. 

This is not science fiction or marketing hype. These devices are currently in
prototype, set for widespread consumer adoption in the coming years. All this
will disrupt and transform our use and understanding of language use. Are we
ready?

A new EU 'COST Action' (https://cost.eu) research network 'Language in the
Human-Machine Era' (LITHME), with members from 52 countries, explores how such
technological advances are likely to change our everyday communication, and
ultimately language itself. As a first major collaborative effort, LITHME has
published an open access report 'The Dawn of the Human-Machine Era: A Forecast
of New and Emerging Language Technologies':
https://doi.org/10.17011/jyx/reports/20210518/1.

Accessible to a wide audience, the report brings together insights from
specialists in the fields of language technology and linguistic research.

The forecast report was authored by 52 researchers, and edited by LITHME's
Chair Dave Sayers (University of Jyväskylä, Finland), Vice-Chair Sviatlana
Höhn (University of Luxembourg), and the Chair of LITHME's Computational
Linguistics working group Rui Sousa Silva (University of Porto, Portugal). It
describes the current state and probable futures of various language
technologies – for written, spoken, haptic and signed modalities of language.

The publication is intended to be both authoritative and accessible, aimed at
language and technology professionals but also policymakers and the wider
public. It describes how a range of new technologies will soon transform the
way we use language, while discussing the software powering these advances
behind the scenes, as well as consumer devices like Augmented Reality
eyepieces and immersive Virtual Reality spaces. The report also shines a light
on critical issues such as inequality of access to technologies, privacy and
security, and new forms of deception and crime.

It is a result of unique collaboration, as LITHME brings together people from
different directions in language research who would not otherwise meet or
collaborate. LITHME has eight thematic working groups; and members from each
working group have contributed to the report.

Please share this message with anyone who may be interested, and please
retweet us here:
https://twitter.com/LgHumanMachine/status/1394716982587662339.

LITHME is a 4-year networking project, funded by the European Cooperation in
Science and Technology (COST). It started in October 2020 and currently has
members from all 27 EU states plus 25 other countries from every continent.
The network seeks to bridge the gap between linguists and technology experts,
so the former can benefit from better technological foresight, and the latter
from better understanding of potential linguistic and societal consequences of
emerging technologies.

Find out more about LITHME's activities: https://lithme.eu. And follow us on
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LgHumanMachine

All the best,
Dave

__________________
Dr. Dave Sayers, ORCID no. 0000-0003-1124-7132
Senior Lecturer & Docent, Dept Language & Communication Studies, U. Jyväskylä,
Finland | www.jyu.fi
Chair, EU COST Action CA19102 'Language in the Human-Machine Era' |
www.lithme.eu
Founder & Moderator, TeachLing | https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/teachling
dave.sayers at cantab.net | https://jyu.academia.edu/DaveSayers
 



Linguistic Field(s): Discipline of Linguistics





 



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