What AI earbuds can’t replace: The value of learning another language

By: Gabriel Guillén, Middlebury College and Thor Sawin, Middlebury College, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: November 10, 2025

Words: 1,371

Last Updated: 2 weeks ago

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By Gabriel Guillén, Middlebury College and Thor Sawin, Middlebury College

Your host in Osaka, Japan, slips on a pair of headphones and suddenly hears your words transformed into flawless Kansai Japanese. Even better, their reply in their native tongue comes through perfectly clear to you.

Thanks to artificial intelligence, neither of you is lost in translation. What once seemed like science fiction is now marketed as a quick fix for cross-cultural communication.

Such …

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