Google is taking steps to make the phrase “it’s a small world”, more prevalent than ever. Recent rumors indicate that the Nexus One may be subject to a ground-breaking upgrade. This upgrade will allow people speak in languages that they’ve never even heard, more or less learned. The only downside is that it may ride younger generations of studying about cultures other than their own. This upgrade will essentially translate a user's first language, to any language that he wishes. Yes, that means that if I(an english speaking person) wish to speak to someone in Finland (in Finnish) Google can make it so. Maybe not in live conversation, but the delay will certaintly beat having to refer to a Finnish dictionary for every word.
The future of collaboration is possibly at hand, people. An age where people all over the world can almost instantly know what anyone else is saying. The effects on business and education will be limitless... From a business aspect, there would no longer be the need to hire employees that speak the native language of a foreign country I wish to serve. I could call them up, and have a frank conversation explaining why Cloud 9 is the way to go. But, what happens if I end up face to face with my subordinates, or clients in China. I would need the aid of the Nexus One in order to speak Mandarin to someone standing 5ft away from me. That to me, will ruin customer relationships with my company. I believe my company should have invested the time and money to find employees that can understand my foreign clients. How arrogant would I have to be to think, that just because Google gave me an amazing gift, I can all of a sudden give a Chinese client better financial counsel than someone native to their situations. Can you imagine how hard it would be for an American to understand them not having a car in their personal balance sheet? No...because I don't understand the culture in China like a native Chinese colleague does.
Although this "upgrade" would be a great step towards globalization and the integration of cultures on a global scale; is it really helping in the long run? The time-frame for decisions could be improved, but in the end only people that have a win-win situation are the phone companies and of course, Google. Because if I have to continuously stay on my GSM capable phone...minutes will be of the essence.
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