This is the 2676th installment of my continuous tweets. I’m writing these spontaneously on the spot. Today’s post is just my thoughts. #KenichiroMogi’sContinuousTweets
I sometimes hear discussions about the meaning of learning other languages in an era where generative AI can almost completely handle translation between languages. For example, the argument is whether there is any point in learning English when machines can translate between English and Japanese.
In practical situations such as shopping, conducting business, and understanding the meaning of texts, it’s highly beneficial to use AI-powered machine translation. Therefore, there’s no need to stubbornly rely on self-reliance to understand things on your own. The fact that X posts are now going viral regardless of language is one aspect of this.
On the other hand, the development of AI does not mean that learning English, the world’s common language, has become meaningless. In this age where text can be easily manipulated by AI, the need to prove oneself through face-to-face, real-time communication is increasing, and English is indispensable in such situations.
Even if machine translation can convert Japanese to English, the need to check the quality of the resulting English output and make corrections as necessary remains unchanged. In fact, because it enables more advanced English expressions, a higher level of English proficiency is required than ever before to grasp its nuances and qualia.
Presenting machine-translated English output without understanding the language itself is like throwing something into the dark. You’re simply outputting without understanding the potential effects, making it extremely unreliable.
Now that machine translation allows Japanese speakers to produce advanced English and understand the meaning of English texts, the need to acquire English has actually increased as a challenge for human embodied perception. Since this enables high-level communication and contextualization, it would be foolish not to take advantage of it.
There are reports that the brains of people who acquire multiple languages, not just English, become more robust in their neural networks, and the probability of developing dementia decreases significantly. While the development of artificial intelligence should increase, rather than decrease, the cognitive load on the brain, the same can be said for English language acquisition.
Now that machine translation allows Japanese speakers to produce advanced English and understand the meaning of English texts, the need to acquire English has actually increased as a challenge for human embodied perception. Since this enables high-level communication and contextualization, it would be foolish not to take advantage of it.
This concludes the 2676th installment of my tweet series, featuring seven tweets on the theme, “Is there any need to learn English now that AI can translate?” #KenichiroMogi’sTweetSeries