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1. Meta has released a new AI model that can translate speech from 101 different languages. It represents a step toward real-time, simultaneous interpretation, where words are translated as soon as they come out of someone’s mouth. Typically, translation models for speech use a multistep approach. First they translate speech into text. Then they translate that text into text in another language. Finally, that translated text is turned into speech in the new language. This method can be inefficient, and at each step, errors and mistranslations can creep in. But Meta’s new model, called SeamlessM4T, enables more direct translation from speech in one language to speech in another. The model is described in a paper published today in Nature. Seamless can translate text with 23% more accuracy than the top existing models. (Source: technologyreview.com, nature.com)
2. Jonathan Chen, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine, and Ethan Goh, MBBS, MS, a postdoctoral scholar, both at Stanford University, have collaborated for 2 years on studying the integration of human and artificial intelligence to enhance clinical decision-making. They published a randomized clinical trial in JAMA Network Open on October 28 (2024) that found that the use of a large language model (LLM) did not significantly enhance physicians’ diagnostic reasoning beyond that of conventional resources. Surprisingly, though, the LLM alone performed better than the physicians did with either the LLM or the conventional resources. (Source: jamanetwork.com, The article features an interview with Dr. Chen and Mr. Goh,. Italics mine)
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