Call translation services new battleground in AI race

SK Telecom will release a real-time translation service on its app A., it announced on Thursday. [SK TELECOM]

The coming year will likely see a range of real-time phone call translation services powered by advanced AI as Korean tech firms vie to integrate large-scale machine learning and analytics into practical services.

SK Telecom, a leading telecommunications provider, joined the competition in Korea when it announced on Thursday that it would launch a service that provides real-time translation during calls.

The service is fully tested and ready for release. SK Telecom said it will be made available on its AI-powered app, A., as soon as it is approved by the Apple App Store.

The service, dubbed “A. call translator,” is part of SK Telecom’s app A. and the translations will be available in four languages — Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese.

The number of languages available for translation will eventually be expanded to 11.

“Currently, only iPhone users can use the translation service, but Android users will soon be able to use it as well,” SK Telecom said.

The rollout of the new service is part of a move by SK Telecom to shift its focus from its mainstay telecommunications business to the burgeoning AI sector, as announced by CEO Ryu Young-sang in September. Ryu believes that the company’s competitive edge in the AI realm in the business-to-consumer (B2C) market is to develop its own AI personal assistant.

“I anticipate that within three years, a person will be using two to three AI assistants, similar to the phenomenon of a person subscribing to multiple streaming services,” Ryu had said.

SK Telecom said it has recently updated A. to include call recording and summary functions for iPhone users.

The iPhone, unlike other smartphones, does not have a built-in call recording function due to privacy regulations in the United States and other countries. This has long been mentioned as one of the inconveniences for iPhone users in Korea.

Samsung Electronics, on the other hand, released its own generative AI model “Samsung Gauss” — named after the German mathematician — that will reportedly be installed on its new phones from the Galaxy S24 series next year.

What sets this apart from other AI models is that Samsung Gauss will be fitted into communication devices that process results without an external internet connection. This means that the AI-powered services will be made available through pre-installed software on smartphone devices without downloading separate apps.

Based on Gauss, reports predict that Samsung will also provide a live translation function from its calls from its Galaxy S24 series. Since the AI model is docked onto the device, users do not need to download a separate app. According to Samsung, since the content of the calls is not transmitted outside to the cloud or other exterior sources, the function will be safe from privacy issues, alongside reduced latency compared to apps as it operates directly on the smartphone device.

For SK Telecom’s A., a caller will be able to utilize the new service after pressing the translation icon on the app. For instance, when a Korean speaker selects English as the language needed for translation and makes a call, AI will provide a speech-to-text response in translated English, which will again be converted to a text-to-speech response and passed on to the English speaker at the receiving end of the line.

The service can be used by SK Telecom iPhone users through the A. app, but the person at the other end of the line does not need to be an iPhone user or an A. app user.

The A. translation function is expected to be useful for foreigners residing in Korea but are not quite fluent in the Korean language, as they receive assistance with communications when they make a call.

“By combining telecommunications technology and AI, ‘A. call translation’ is expected to enhance user convenience and ease language barriers,” said Kim Yong-hun, the head of SK Telecom’s AI Service in a statement. "We plan to expand support for various languages and evolve A. into a more personalized AI assistant service."

BY KWEN YU-JIN [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]