Wednesday, May 10, 2023
‘Universal translator’ dubs and lip-syncs speakers – but Google warns against misuse - TechCrunch - Translation
Google is testing a powerful new translation service that redubs video in a new language while also synchronizing the speaker’s lips with words they never spoke. It could be very useful for a lot of reasons, but the company was upfront about the possibility of abuse and the steps taken to prevent it.
“Universal Translator” was shown off at Google I/O during a presentation by James Manyika, who heads up the company’s new “Technology and Society” department. It was offered as an example of something only recently made possible by advances in AI, but simultaneously presenting serious risks that have to be reckoned with from the start.
The “experimental” service takes an input video, in this case a lecture from an online course originally recorded in English, transcribes the speech, translates it, regenerates the speech (matching style and tone) in that language, and then edits the video so that the speaker’s lips more closely match the new audio.
So it’s basically a deepfake generator, right? Yes, but the technology that’s used for malicious purposes elsewhere has genuine utility. There are actually companies that do this kind of thing right now in the media world, redubbing lines in post-production for any of a dozen reasons. (The demo was impressive, but it must be said the tech still has a way to go.)
But those tools are professional ones being made available in a strict media workflow, not a checkbox on a YouTube upload page. Neither is Universal Translator — yet — but if it is ever to be so, Google needs to reckon with the possibility of it being used to create disinformation or other unforeseen hazards.
Manyika called this a “tension between boldness and safety,” and striking a balance can be difficult. But clearly it can’t just be released widely for anyone to use with no restrictions. Yet the benefits — for example, making an online course available in 20 languages without subtitles or re-recording — are undeniable.
“This is an enormous step forward for learning comprehension, and we’re seeing promising results in course completion rates,” Manyika said. “But there’s an inherent tension here: Some of the same underlying technology could be misused by bad actors to create deepfakes. So we built the service with guardrails to prevent misuse, and we make it accessible only to authorized partners. Soon we’ll be integrating new innovations in watermarking into our latest generative models to also help with the challenge of misinformation.”
That’s certainly a start, but we’ve seen how those same bad actors are highly capable when it comes to circumventing such roadblocks. The “guardrails” are a bit hand-wavy, and sharing solely with partners works only so long as the model doesn’t leak — as they tend to. Watermarking is a good path to pursue as well, of course, but so far most approaches to that have been defeated by trivial edits like cropping, resizing, and other minor manipulations to the watermarked media.
Google demonstrated a lot of AI capabilities today both new and familiar, but whether and how they will be both useful and safe is kind of still a mystery. But giving someone like Manyika (a researcher himself) stage time at their biggest event to say “wow, this could be bad so we’re doing this and that, who knows if it will work” is at least a fairly honest way to approach the problem.
The Allsopp name still reigns in lexicography: UG launches first Caribbean English school dictionary - News Room Guyana - Dictionary
Tuesday, May 9, 2023
On Rabindranath Tagore`s birth anniversary, the poet`s English translation of Jana Gana Mana goes viral - WION - Translation
India celebrates Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagrore's birth anniversary on May 9. The prolific writer and song composer is the only poet whose songs were adapted as national anthems by two countries- India and Bangladesh. The Indian national anthem- Jana Gana Mana was originally composed by Tagore in 1911. The anthem only takes a few verses from the song Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata. The original song has five verses of which only the first stanza has been adapted as India's national anthem.
To mark Tagore's 162nd birth anniversary, the official social media handle of the Nobel Prize organisation shared a rare image of the translated manuscript of the Indian national anthem. The script reportedly was written by Tagore himself. The original song, that we all know now, is in Bangla.
The image has received an overwhelming response, with many expressing appreciation for the post.
“Jana Gana Mana is the national anthem of India, originally composed in Bengali by poet Rabindranath Tagore, who was awarded the #NobelPrize in Literature in 1913. Pictured: An English translation of Jana Gana Mana by Tagore,” reads the caption alongside the picture shared on Twitter.
The timeless image has Tagore's handwritten note - and the English translation of Jana Gana Mana - titled as The Morning Song Of India.
About Rabindranath Tagore and Rabindra Jayanti
Each year, the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore is celebrated with great fervour, especially among the Bengali community across the world. The day, known as Rabindra Jayanti, has become a cultural celebration, where the poet's works are sung and recited.
Various schools, colleges, and universities organise cultural programmes and events such as poetry recitations, dances, and drama competitions on this day.
Born in 1861 to an affluent Zamindar family in Bengal, Tagore was mostly self-taught and homeschooled. He published his first work at the age of sixteen.
Tagore was not just a poet and songwriter but also a novelist and a playwright. He also delved in painting and sketching and established the Vishwa Bharati University in Shantiniketan. In 1913, he became the first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his poetry collection, Gitanjali, which was first composed in Bengali and then translated into English.
Monday, May 8, 2023
On Rabindranath Tagore’s 162nd birth anniversary, read five newly translated poems from ‘Gitanjali’ - Scroll.in - Translation
Life of my life, I shall ever try to keep my body pure, knowing that thy living touch is upon all my limbs.
I shall ever try to keep all untruths out from my thoughts, knowing that thou art that truth which has kindled the light of reason in my mind.
I shall ever try to drive all evils away from my heart and keep my love in flower, knowing that
thou hast thy seat in the inmost shrine of my heart.
And it shall be my endeavour to reveal thee in my actions, knowing it is thy power gives me strength to act.
Remembering always that your touch
Is on my limbs night and day,
Lord of my life, I will keep pure
This body of mine.
You reign in my mind, O supreme knowledge,
This I always recall in every meditation
With every thought I will make every effort
To renounce and keep away every falsehood.
Your immovable throne is in my heart
I will remember that and suppress
All that is harsh, all inauspicious –
I’ll keep love pure and ever abloom.
Knowing that your strength is in all my actions,
In every action it is you I will express.
I am here to sing thee songs. In this hall of thine I have a corner seat.
In thy world I have no work to do; my useless life can only break out in tunes without a purpose.
When the hour strikes for thy silent worship at the dark temple of midnight, command me, my master, to stand before thee to sing.
When in the morning air the golden harp is tuned, honour me, commanding my presence.
I only remain here
To sing songs of you,
In this hall of your universe
Give me a little space.
In the midst of your world
I haven’t set to any work, my lord,
It only resounds to melody
This useless life of mine.
At night in the silent temple,
When you are worshipped,
Then, O master,
Command me to sing.
When at dawn the veena plays
Its golden melody across the sky,
Let me not be far from you
Allow me this honour.
I am only waiting for love to give myself up at last into his hands. That is why it is so late and why I have been guilty of such omissions.
They come with their laws and their codes to bind me fast; but I evade them ever, for I am only waiting for love to give myself up at last into his hands.
People blame me and call me heedless; I doubt not they are right in their blame.
The market day is over and work is all done for the busy. Those who came to call me in vain have gone back in anger. I am only waiting for love to give myself up at last into his hands.
I only wait to give myself
Into the hands of love;
It’s very late now,
I’m at fault for many faults.
With binding-cords of rules and laws
They come to snare me, but I move away,
Whatever punishment I get for that
I’ll take and be content.
I only wait to give myself
Into the hands of love.
People censure me,
That censure is not untrue,
I’ll take all the censure upon my head
And remain beneath them all.
The day draws to an end,
The fair of buying and selling breaks up,
Those who came to call me
They go back in anger.
I only wait to give myself
Into the hands of love.
He came and sat by my side but I woke not. What a cursed sleep it was, O miserable me!
He came when the night was still; he had his harp in his hands, and my dreams became resonant with its melodies.
Alas, why are my nights all thus lost? Ah, why do I ever miss his sight whose breath touches my sleep?
Oh he came and sat by me
And still I didn’t wake.
What a sleep had hold of you,
Unlucky woman.
He came on a silent night,
His veena was in his hands,
In the midst of dreams he played
His deep melodies.
I wake to find the south wind
Maddening
Its fragrance floats all around
Filling the dark.
Why does my night pass
Having him near, yet not having him,
Why has my chest never felt
The touch of his garland.
He whom I enclose with my name is weeping in this dungeon. I am ever busy building this wall all around; and as this wall goes up into the sky day by day I lose sight of my true being in its dark shadow.
I take pride in this great wall, and I plaster it with dust and sand lest a least hole should be left in this name; and for all the care I take I lose sight of my true being.
He whom I keep covered with my name
Is dying in the prison of this name.
The more I forget everything and try
Night and day to set this name on the sky,
The more in the darkness of my name
I lose my true me.
Gathering layer of dust ’pon dust
I build my name up high.
For fear of a crack somewhere
My heart doesn’t rest at all,
The more care I take of this lie
The more I lose me.
Excerpted with permission from Gitanjali: A New Translation, Rabindranath Tagore, translated from the Bengali by Prasenjit Gupta, Parabaas.
Welsh translation error warns of race for food road closure - BBC - Translation
Ravenous runners' mouths will be watering at the thought of a "race for food".
That is what the Welsh translation of a road sign pictured in Cardiff has promised instead of the planned Race for Life.
Cancer Research's run takes place every year and is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2023.
The gaffe follows the misspelling of the English word "school" and the Welsh word "ysgol" outside a Swansea school.
They appeared as "shcool" and "ysool" last month.
The latest translation mishap appears to have occurred due to a missing letter for the word "fywyd" - Welsh for "life" - which leaves the sign with the Welsh word for food "fwyd".
- Swansea gas workers misspell school when repainting road
- Sign spelling gaffes from across Wales
- Llandudno Welsh road sign translation error branded an insult
- E-mail error ends up on road sign
The error was said to have been spotted on Cardiff's North Road, near the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, on Monday morning.
Cardiff Council has been contacted for comment.
There is a long list of examples of Welsh translation blunders happening across Wales.
Gaffes have appeared on road instructions, supermarket signs, government messages and maps.
This week a citizenship oath written in Welsh was criticised for asking people to curse at God.
Last month there was an error in the UK government's emergency alert text that resulted in it mentioning a Slovenian ski resort.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden blamed it on autocorrect.
Related Topics
- Cardiff
- Welsh language