u/bawdymommy

Google DeepMind’s SL2T ASL-to-English app appears to be a pretty significant jump in quality from the previous demos we’ve seen. It’s even recognizing one-handed signing.

I’m really interested to see feedback once more people have had a chance to use it in real-world situations. Here are a couple of demos I’ve found so far:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Db8WAqfjtwo/img_index=1&igsh=MTNta3U4c2R0c2tvNg==

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db9Xb0YON_j/igsh=NDk0dGdodHJyM3Y3

Edit**:** To clarify, because I think the intent of my post is being misunderstood: I am not posting this because I’m excited about AI replacing interpreters or because I support that outcome. I’m posting it as a heads-up to our profession.

In previous discussions about AI interpreting, many of us have pointed to the technology’s inability to translate ASL to English accurately, handle diverse signing styles, or deal with things like one-handed signing as reasons it was still a long way from posing a serious threat to human interpreters. What caught my attention about these demos is that some of those limitations appear to be improving, and improving substantially.

I don’t think it serves us to dismiss advances in the technology because we dislike what they could mean for our profession. Recognizing that it is getting better is not the same thing as celebrating it. If anything, I think interpreters need to be paying close attention to these developments precisely because of the potential implications for our work.

My interest in seeing feedback from actual users is also not enthusiasm for AI interpreting. A polished demo is one thing. How well this performs with real Deaf people, diverse signers, natural language, and real-world communication is another. That is the feedback I’m interested in seeing.

Can anyone share their experience interpreting while taking Topamax?

I have chronic migraines, and Topamax has been recommended to me by two of my doctors. I’ve read that a fairly common side effect is trouble finding words or mild aphasia, which obviously concerns me as an interpreter. Language processing and rapid word retrieval are literally at the core of what we do, and I can’t imagine purposely making an already cognitively demanding job harder by reducing my capacity in that area.

I’m hoping to eventually get Botox for migraine prevention, but it sounds like my insurance may require me to try more than one preventive medication first.

I’d especially love to hear from interpreters who have actually taken Topamax. Did you experience word-finding or other cognitive issues? If so, how noticeable were they while interpreting? Did they improve over time or after stopping the medication?

Any experiences or feedback are welcome. Thanks!

Purple recently opened up an opportunity for their VRS interpreters to train to start taking VRI calls in addition to VRS when the regular VRI queue is full. I’m trying to decide if I want to pursue it.
For those of you who do VRI (at Purple or elsewhere), how do you like it compared to VRS? Any pros or cons I should know about before deciding? Especially curious how teaming works in VRI and whether it’s realistic to get support when you need it.

Also, I’m guessing Purple covers the cost of getting licensed in states that require it. For those who went through that process, what did that look like?