Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) recently demonstrated a new real-time video chat translation service. CNBC contributor Herb Greenberg and Re/code’s Ina Fried in a recent appearance on the channel discussed this new technology and what benefits it will bring to both the company and users. “I think this is a great idea,” Herb Greenberg noted, adding later that he thinks it’s a “great technology”. However, the CNBC contributor expressed concerns about how profitable this technology will be for Microsoft.
This was echoed by his colleagues saying that they do not see this Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) technology being utilized for high-value transactions where the parties can afford or need to get the services of a professional translator. On the other hand, the team agreed that this new technology is really beneficial for letting people with different languages have conversations when they otherwise can’t because of the language barrier.
Re/code’s Ina Fried added:
“Think about how many people around the globe are trying to communicate for other things. These are people using Skype today to talk to relatives in other countries. What if they could speak to that cousin or grandparent who’s in a country where they don’t even speak the language? That’s what this technology is about. It’s not about that perfect translation, it’s about allowing two people (to talk).”
Watch the discussion on CNBC below:
Satya Nadella, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO, called this new technology “magical” before the demonstration at the inaugural Code Conference organized by Re/code. He said it will enable people to communicate with anybody without language barriers.
He then proceeded to watch the demonstration of the new technology where Gurdeep Pall, corporate vice president of Skype and Lync at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), talked to a colleague who only spoke German with the help of this new video translation service.
Here is the demonstration at the Code Conference:
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