Google’s New Translation Service Puts Your Voice in Another Language

Summary

WSJ Tech News Briefing: Detailed Summary of "Google’s New Translation Service Puts Your Voice in Another Language"

Introduction

On the May 21, 2025 episode of WSJ Tech News Briefing, hosted by Victoria Craig, The Wall Street Journal delves into Google's latest innovation in AI-driven translation services. The episode not only explores the functionalities and user experiences of Google's new translation tool but also examines broader themes such as the global tech landscape and Europe's challenges in keeping pace with American tech giants.

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1. Google’s New AI Translation Service for Google Meet

Victoria Craig introduces Google's groundbreaking translation service designed for Google Meet video chats. This feature is part of Google's advanced Gemini AI suite, available to subscribers for $20 a month. Unlike traditional translation tools that merely transcribe and dub voices, Google's system uniquely mimics the speaker's voice in the target language, aiming for a more natural and personalized communication experience.

Quote:

"Take it for a spin then. The global tech industry is dominated by American heavyweights." — Victoria Craig [00:18]

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2. User Experience and Features

a. Nicole Nguyen’s Testimonial

Nicole Nguyen, WSJ's personal tech columnist, provides a firsthand account of using the new translation service. During a demonstration, she attempted to speak Spanish using the tool, which eerily replicated her voice while conveying the language accurately.

Quote:

"I was creeped out. It does sound a lot like me." — Nicole Nguyen [01:52]

b. Accuracy and Voice Mimicking

While the service impressively mimics the user's voice, there are challenges in translation accuracy. Nguyen reports initial stuttering and gibberish-like output, which improved as the conversation progressed, highlighting the AI's evolving comprehension during live interactions.

Quote:

"The beginning kind of sounds like gibberish... but towards the end, the speech was clearer." — Nicole Nguyen [02:19]

c. Pricing and Accessibility

The translation feature is part of the higher-tier Gemini AI plans, tailored similarly to other Google services that offer enhanced features for a subscription fee. Users can select their preferred languages, enabling real-time translation during meetings, initially supporting English and Spanish.

Quote:

"Those plans are $20 and up and they're the same kinds of plans where... you buy more storage through these plans." — Nicole Nguyen [03:00]

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3. Security and Privacy Concerns

A significant focus of the discussion revolves around the security and privacy implications of the new translation service. Google asserts that it does not store audio data for model training or product improvement. However, Nguyen raises caution, noting the experimental nature of the feature and the potential risks of inaccuracies in sensitive or business-critical conversations.

Quote:

"Google says that it is not storing any audio data... but it's experimental." — Nicole Nguyen [04:01]

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4. Global Tech Dominance and Europe’s Struggles

The episode transitions to a broader analysis of the global tech industry's landscape, emphasizing the dominance of American companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, and Apple. Tom Fairless, WSJ's European economics reporter, provides insight into why Europe lags behind in tech innovation.

a. Economic and Cultural Factors

Fairless attributes Europe's difficulties to a combination of structural economic models, risk aversion, and a lack of venture capital enthusiasm compared to the U.S. The European market's preference for established industries over startups hampers the emergence of homegrown tech giants.

Quote:

"It's much more of a dynamic. It's much more of an economy based on relationships... there's a continent of risk aversion." — Tom Fairless [07:01]

b. Regulatory Hurdles

European stringent regulations, particularly concerning AI, create additional barriers for tech startups. While Europe's emphasis on ethical AI is commendable, it inadvertently restricts the flexibility and growth potential of emerging companies.

Quote:

"Europe was very proud to be one of the first jurisdictions to bring out these sweeping AI regulations." — Tom Fairless [08:09]

c. Potential Solutions and Roadmaps

Despite existing challenges, there are discussions around strategies to invigorate Europe's tech sector. Mario Draghi's government-focused plans and debates over increasing private capital investment emerge as potential pathways, though skepticism remains regarding their efficacy.

Quote:

"Ultimately maybe there's not a whole amount that Europe can do in this... it's a cultural difference." — Tom Fairless [09:45]

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5. Insights from Industry Experts

Throughout the episode, expert opinions provide depth to the discussions:

• Nader Mehrabi, Chief Digital and Information Officer at NYU Langone Health, highlights the transformative potential of AI in healthcare, emphasizing strategic investment aligned with improving care quality, safety, efficiency, and patient experience.

  Quote:

  "Can we improve the quality care with AI?... can we make care delivery safer?" — Nader Mehrabi [10:54]

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Conclusion

The episode paints a comprehensive picture of current advancements in AI-driven translation services, exemplified by Google's latest offering, while also shedding light on the broader economic and cultural dynamics influencing the global tech hierarchy. As Europe grapples with maintaining its competitive edge, the insights shared by industry experts underscore the intricate balance between innovation, regulation, and economic models.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• "I was creeped out. It does sound a lot like me." — Nicole Nguyen [01:52]
• "The beginning kind of sounds like gibberish... but towards the end, the speech was clearer." — Nicole Nguyen [02:19]
• "Google says that it is not storing any audio data... but it's experimental." — Nicole Nguyen [04:01]
• "It's much more of an economy based on relationships... there's a continent of risk aversion." — Tom Fairless [07:01]
• "Can we improve the quality care with AI?... can we make care delivery safer?" — Nader Mehrabi [10:54]

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This summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and expert opinions from the episode, providing a thorough overview for those who haven't listened to the original podcast.

Transcript

[Nader Mehrabi]

AI has the potential to transform the medical industry as we know it. Join NYU Langone Health at the break to hear from Nader Mehrabi, the organization's chief digital and Information officer, about how the healthcare system is using this powerful technology to improve care.

[Victoria Craig]

Welcome to Tech News briefing. It's Wednesday, May 21st. I'm Victoria Craig for the Wall Street Journal. Lost in Translation, A problem of the past. At least that's the aim of a new AI service from goog. Take it for a spin then. The global tech industry is dominated by American heavyweights. We'll explain what's holding back Europe. But first, live real time translations are usually reserved for important large scale events like press conferences from world leaders or speeches at the United Nations. That's because it involves an interpreter speaking in real time. But yesterday Google announced that kind of service is now available for Google Meet Video Chats. Subscribers of the company's advanced Gemini AI can access it for $20 a month. And rather than just dubbing your voice with the native human speakers, Google's system mimics your voice to speak in the listener's language. Our personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen tried it out.

[Nader Mehrabi]

Where would you like to go on your next vacation?

[Nicole Nguyen]

Well, I can tell you about an upcoming vacation that I'm taking to Spain, to Mallorca con la familia.

[Victoria Craig]

No, Nicole doesn't speak span, but it did sound an awful lot like her, didn't it? And that's the point. Nicole joins me now from just outside Google's developers conference in Mountain View, California. Nicole, it sounded like you were speaking fluent Spanish there, but you obviously weren't. What did you make of that?

[Nicole Nguyen]

I was creeped out. It does sound a lot like me. I felt like my Spanish alter ego jumped out of the screen and was looking at me in the face. And when I showed it to my colleagues, my boss, who I've worked with for the past five years, and my husband, they were like, whoa, it sounds like you are speaking Spanish.

[Victoria Craig]

Okay, so it sounds authentic. It even gives you like a native Spanish accent. But how accurate were the translations?

[Nicole Nguyen]

So I showed this video clip to my colleague who is a native Spanish speaker, and she was like, the beginning kind of sounds like gibberish. There was a rough start. Some words are stuttered. And I think that the translation tech, the AI that's powering this technology, was trying to catch up. You know, it's trying to predict what I'm trying to say with the right tone, with the right intonation before it has the full picture. And so it is a difficult problem. But when you're conversing with someone, it can be a little startling if you can't understand them right away. But towards the end, the speech was clearer and more understandable.

[Victoria Craig]

So how does this work? So you log on to a Google Meet just like we're doing now, and then what happens?

[Nicole Nguyen]

If you pay for Google Gemini, then you get access to this tool and Those plans are $20 and up and they're the same kinds of plans where like if you use Google Photos and you need more storage, you buy more storage through these plans. It's the more expensive version of these plans that come with AI features that includes this Google Meet translator feature. And you set your preferred language that you speak and the language that you'd like to hear. And that turns on speech translation for everyone in the call. So anytime someone is speaking on the call, it will be translated into your preferred language if they're not already speaking your language. And the feature is first rolling out for English and Spanish.

[Victoria Craig]

As with all other AI uses, the biggest question is always around security and safety of the platform. Does this new translation service change any of that for Google Meet? Does Google store any of these conversations somewhere or do you have complete privacy when it comes to accessing this?

[Nicole Nguyen]

Google says that it is not storing any audio data, either for trading its model or for the purposes of improving its product. However, I think that one thing to consider is that this feature is experimental. Translation is art. Language is very complex and a pop up warns that the translations may not always be accurate. And that's definitely something to keep in mind, especially if you plan on having a more serious conversation, you know, a business conversation. With this translation feature on, you don't want anything to get lost in translation.

[Victoria Craig]

That was WSJ personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen. Coming up, the global tech revolution is leaving Europe behind. But why? We'll dig into the myriad reasons after the break.

[Nader Mehrabi]

Although AI has only recently emerged as a transformational technology, NYU Langone has been laying the foundation for its application for years. Chief Digital and Information Officer Nader Mehrabi explains.

We've always been forward looking. We actually started back in 2017. We just wanted to learn and create deeper knowledge about AI. And of course we fast forward when generative AI burst in the market, we were much more prepared to take advantage of our patient.

[Victoria Craig]

Google Meta, Amazon, Apple. What do all of those big tech behemoths have in common? They come from the us and that trend of American dominance in tech is creating a problem for Europe. In the same way that cars replaced horses and buggies. New tech is replacing old ways of working. That evolution allows a country to produce more goods with the same number of workers. And that is a key driver of prosperity. Tom Fairless is a reporter covering the European economy for the Wall Street Journal in Frankfurt. Tom, you write that the tech revol leaving Europe behind. Why is that?

[Tom Fairless]

Yeah, so it's a serious issue for Europe that its economy has been very sluggish since the COVID crisis. And the US has really rocketed out of the crisis and grown very strongly and caught up to where it should have been before. And Europe has really just stagnated. And Mario Draghi, the former Italian prime minister and European Central bank president, pinpointed tech as the kind of epicenter of this growth disaster in a landmark report last September. So other parts of the economy are okay. The manufacturing sector is pretty productive. But it's specifically tech where Europe seems to struggle and has struggled for 20 years or so. It has not produced the Amazons and the apples. The typical day of me in Germany is to use a lot of US Services because there is just no European alternative.

[Victoria Craig]

So why is that? What's the difference between the two places?

[Tom Fairless]

The crux of it is that it's maybe a different economic model. In Europe, it's a structural issue where the US market is much more kind of an open competitive field and also much bigger market. And so you can get this sort of raw capitalism, lots of investors willing to take on risk, businesses willing to try new things. And in Europe, there really isn't that sort of dynamic. It's much more of a economy based on relationships, relationships with banks, bank financing. There's less reward if you take risks. So if you're a business and you have the alternative to try a new service from a startup in the US you take it because you might get a bonus or get a promotion if you do that as the employee in Europe, there's probably not much of a chance. There's more of a risk that you'll lose what you have. So it's kind of a continent of risk aversion. And that, I think, explains why these new ventures tend to come very late to Europe. They adopt things like Uber rather than create alternatives of their own.

[Victoria Craig]

And that's some of the biggest reasons you point out. As you mentioned, it's private capital in the U.S. there's much more of that versus government funding, less regulation in the U.S. and even cultural differences. But can we zoom in a little bit on the regulation in Europe? Because for many businesses, you spoke to, they cited that as one of the biggest hurdles to starting and really growing a company on the continent.

[Tom Fairless]

One of the AI startup entrepreneurs, he got very frustrated being based in Berlin and is actually now in California. He moved while we were writing the story. He said that when he talks to investors and businesses in Germany about AI, they're worried about the risks. It's always the downside, the threat, the ethics, but whereas when he goes to China or the U.S. it's much more about the opportunity and the growth prospects. And that's why he feels much more at home there. And Europe was very proud of its regulation of AI. It was very proud to be one of the first jurisdictions to bring out these sweeping AI regulations. But that's made American companies that come here restrict their models and limit what they offer at first. And as an AI company trying to grow out of Europe, investors and entrepreneurs were saying it's very, very difficult.

[Victoria Craig]

And you write in your piece that Europe is really dominated by some of these old school industries, especially in Germany, like autos, even banks. And the productivity gains were long extracted years ago. We're talking about all the hurd to starting and growing new tech businesses in Europe. What are some of the ways that these people, these companies can overcome those hurdles to be successful? Is there a roadmap?

[Tom Fairless]

Mario Draghi did come up with a plan, but it seems heavily based around governments and government funding. And some of the analysts and investors we spoke to are quite skeptical of that, that that's actually the problem, that governments are too involved and it needs to be private capital that does this. Ultimately maybe there's not a whole amount that Europe can do in this, in this area that is a cultural difference. This idea of risk aversion, this strange kind of contradiction that Europe has, the cities which often are the best places to live supposedly in kind of these global indices. And yet at the same time it's no longer at the cutting edge of economic growth.

[Victoria Craig]

That was Tom Fairless, WSJ's European economics reporter. And that's it for Tech News Briefing. I'm Victoria Craig for the Wall Street. We'll be back this afternoon with TNB Tech Minute. Thanks for listening.

[Nader Mehrabi]

For hospitals, determining where to invest AI resources is critical. Here's NYU Langone's Nader Warabi again.

The way we use AI here is really grounded. Can we improve the quality care with AI? Can we make care delivery safer? And can we make care delivery efficient? And lastly, can we improve the patient experience using AI? Every project AI should think we should say, does it meet one or more of those criteria.

To learn more about healthcare innovation at NYU Langone Health, Please visit NYU langone.org Custom content from WSJ is a unit of the Wall Street Journal Advertising Department. The Wall Street Journal News Organization was not involved in the creation of this content.