AI-powered apps are increasingly reliable at enabling dialogue between two people who speak the same language. — Pixabay
HAMBURG: As the capabilities of artificial intelligence grow day by day, many schoolchildren are asking themselves if they really still need to learn foreign languages.
Indeed, it's a question that ChatGPT product chief Nicholas Turley has been asked by many a student, he says. Will AI do to language learning what calculators once did to everyday arithmetic? Are chatbots about to make learning a foreign language obsolete?
Turley believes chatbots won't – and shouldn't – replace language classes in schools.
"AI can help you learn the language. It's a cool way to learn something new. But it is not a substitute for speaking a foreign language," Turley told dpa on the sidelines of a digital event in Hamburg.
AI-powered apps are increasingly reliable at enabling dialogue between two people who speak the same language. Major smartphone manufacturers like Samsung and Xiaomi have meanwhile begun pre-installing live translation software on their latest phones.
AI chatbots like ChatGPT can meanwhile be prompted to help a person learn a language, for example by saying: "I'm a beginner in learning French. Can you have a basic conversation with me?"
While real-time translation apps can come in handy when travelling abroad, Turley said he would not want to live in a world where people only communicate through AI.
"That is not human, and at OpenAI, it is simply important to us that AI benefits people and does not replace human interaction."
He added that he would continue to recommend pursuing both languages and other areas of interest, using AI as a tutor rather than a replacement.
"My answer is always: Learn what interests you. Human curiosity is the most important thing with AI. After all, you also need to be able to ask the right questions," Turley said.
Turley has been working at OpenAI since 2022 and leads product development for ChatGPT. He played a key role in developing the chatbot, which sparked the hype around AI.
Turley's comments come as Duolingo, a leading language learning app, has largely shifted to AI in producing material for learning languages and has said it would let go of external workers where their output can be replaced by AI. – dpa/Tribune News Service
