For centuries, deciphering dead languages has posed significant challenges, but the emergence of artificial intelligence (A.I.) is transforming the landscape of linguistic research.
A recent breakthrough in A.I. technology has resulted in the creation of a powerful translator capable of decoding nearly a million undeciphered Akkadian cuneiform texts within seconds.
Harnessing A.I. For Translation
This interdisciplinary achievement, led by a team of computer science and history researchers, opens the door to new possibilities in understanding ancient civilizations and their written records.
By harnessing the potential of A.I., this revolutionary tool provides a beacon of hope for historians and linguists striving to unravel the secrets of long-lost languages.
The A.I. model, developed by a Google software engineer and an Assyriologist from Ariel University, utilizes cutting-edge technology similar to that powering Google Translate.
By training the model on existing cuneiform translations, the researchers have enabled the A.I. tool to instantly translate the complex ancient glyphs.
This interdisciplinary collaboration showcases the power of merging computer science and historical research to overcome formidable linguistic challenges.
Akkadian, an ancient language spoken and written during the Akkadian Empire in present-day Iraq, presents a unique set of difficulties due to its limited cultural context and scarcity of individuals proficient in reading it.
The cuneiform writing system, consisting of sharp triangular figures, was used to mark clay tablets with the wedge-shaped end of a reed.
Despite the durability of these tablets, the vast number of existing texts has far outpaced the efforts of linguists to translate them, leaving a wealth of untapped knowledge about one of the earliest known empires in history.
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The Promise of Assisted Translation
The A.I. translator is capable of two different sorts of translation, phonetically transliterating cuneiform and converting cuneiform to English.
Surprisingly, the A.I. produced accurate translations that outperformed the team’s goal.
Remarkably, the A.I. achieved high-quality translations, surpassing the team’s targets, as indicated by the Best Bilingual Evaluation Understudy 4 (BLEU4) scores.
While occasional errors and hallucinations still occur, the tool significantly accelerates the initial processing of texts, saving valuable time and human labor.
It serves as a preliminary resource for researchers to verify and refine translations, enabling a collaborative approach between A.I. technology and human expertise.
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