Chapter 290. [An Eternal Second]

《Shitennou-kun, were you interested in language processing?》

《Why would you think I wasn’t? I’ve lived in an environment where many languages have been spoken since I was a child. I’ve mastered many languages and challenged you to language battles many times.》

《Ah~》

Now that you mention it, I do recall something like that.

As I was digging through my memory…

《This is for future study. So, it’s not like I bent my principles because Iroha asked…》

Shitennou was mumbling to himself as if trying to convince himself.

Ah, so it’s for studying! Then I can ask for help without hesitation!

《Hehe. Thanks, Shitennou-kun. You’re a great help.》

The problem was solved, and I felt relieved.

A natural smile spread across my face.

《~~~~~!?》

For some reason, Shitennou’s face turned bright red.

He started banging his forehead against the desk.

《Shi, Shitennou-kun!?》

《Uwoooo!? Why am I so happy!? I didn’t take this on for that reason at all…!》

Uh, I don’t really get it, but it seems serious.

Well, adolescence can make people act in ways that don’t make sense, so I’ll leave him be.

As I was quietly distancing myself from Shitennou, a girl called out.

“Iroha-chan!”

Her gaze was full of determination.

《Introduce that part-time job to me too! I want to work with Shitennou!》

《Huh? You were interested in language processing too?》

《Guh!? Ah, no, well, that’s not it》

The girl hesitated with her words.

At that moment, Shitennou straightened up.

《Hey, you should focus on your studies first. Say that after you manage the school tests.》

It seemed he had recovered.

I’ll pretend I didn’t see his forehead being bright red.

《Ugh!? But… Iroha-chan! Is that help limited to just one person?》

《How should I know? We’d have to ask. But I’m sure they’d be happy with as many people as they can get.》

Considering they even came to me, they must be really short-handed.

《Well then! Studying is important, but so is helping a friend in need! Right, Shitennou?》

《Why are you asking me? Well, if Iroha’s fine with it, then I don’t mind.》

《Alright!》

《…If your grades drop, it’s not my problem. It’s your life, after all.》

《What!? It is your problem! Because… You need to help me study even more than before!》

《What!? Why!?》

《N-nothing! It’s fine, isn’t it!?》

《…Hah~. Do whatever you want.》

Shitennou was completely overpowered by the girl.

She’s impressive. To be so motivated about helping and studying.

I don’t hate studying, but I’m not particularly fond of it either.

So, unless I feel it’s necessary, I struggle to get started.

Or unless someone I like is teaching me.

Hehehe…! I’m looking forward to studying with Bancho!

《Ah~. So, Iroha. What exactly are you researching in language processing?》

《Come to think of it, I haven’t told you yet, have I?》

The term ‘natural language processing’ covers a wide range of topics.

Chatbots, text correction, social media analysis, etc.

Among them, the research institute I’m collaborating with is working on…

《A next-generation “translation” system.》

《..! I see》

Upon hearing that, Shitennou nodded in understanding.

He seemed to realize why someone like me, who always says, “I can’t reduce my time watching my favorite VTubers!”, would go out of my way to help with the research.

Yes, of course—it’s all for VTubers!

《Current “automatic translation” systems still have a lot of shortcomings, I think.》

In recent years, with the advancement of AI, the accuracy of ‘machine translation’ has significantly improved.

But even so, the language barrier remains high.

Just the other day, there was a peculiar incident.

Bancho, who I had refused to watch “Netflix” with, tweeted this as a substitute:

『Iroha-neki, let’s go for a “walk” together next time♡』

It was supposed to mean “If indoor activities are no good, then how about outdoor ones.”

However, when automatically translated into English, it turned into…

『Irohaneki, let’s “have sex” together next time♡』

Naturally, overseas fans who saw it were incredibly confused… or rather, extremely excited.

This shows that modern machine translation still has significant accuracy issues.

Such mistranslations are unavoidable given the nature of the current mainstream ‘statistical’ machine translation, but still, it’s far from perfect.

《And then, there’s the translation speed.》

It’s not just about translating but also about analyzing speech, translating, and then outputting it.

Real-time, no-lag translation is still a long way off.

I’ve mentioned this before.

Even a one-second lag can be fatal in a live stream where timing is everything.

If the reaction is late, the conversation moves on.

With current translation devices, one side will always be left behind in an international collaboration.

A second in conversation is an eternity.

Of course, other factors like microphone quality, ambient noise, processing power, and communication speed also play a role, so it’s not just about having good software.

That’s why we’re trying to create a new ‘system’ for translation that encompasses everything.

《Well, I don’t know how much I’m actually contributing to the research… despite saying all this… Sigh~. If only there were a way to achieve no-lag translation somewhere.》

《Eh!?》

For some reason, Shitennou was looking at me with a mix of confusion and astonishment.