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Machine learning to make sign language more accessible

Google has spent over twenty years helping to make information accessible and useful in more than 150 languages. And our work is definitely not done, because the internet changes so quickly. About 15% of searches we see are entirely new every day. And when it comes to other types of information beyond words, in many…

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Google has spent over twenty years helping to make information accessible and useful in more than 150 languages. And our work is definitely not done, because the internet changes so quickly. About 15% of searches we see are entirely new every day. And when it comes to other types of information beyond words, in many ways, technology hasn’t even begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible. Take one example: sign language.

The task is daunting. There are as many sign languages as there are spoken languages around the world. That’s why, when we started exploring how we could better support sign language, we started small by researching and experimenting with what machine learning models could recognize. We also spoke with members of the Deaf community, as well as linguistic experts. We began combining several ML models to recognize sign language as a sum of its parts — going beyond just hands to include body gestures and facial expressions.

After 14 months of testing with a database of videos for Japanese Sign Language and Hong Kong Sign Language, we launched SignTown: an interactive desktop application that works with a web browser and camera.

SignTown is an interactive web game built to help people to learn about sign language and Deaf culture. It uses machine learning to detect the user’s ability to perform signs learned from the game.

Project Shuwa

SignTown is only one component of a broader effort to push the boundaries of technology for sign language and Deaf culture, named “Project Shuwa” after the Japanese word for sign language (“手話”). Future areas of development we’re exploring include building a more comprehensive dictionary across more sign and written languages, as well as collaborating with the Google Search team on surfacing these results to improve search quality for sign languages.

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Why over 140,000 developers took our five-day generative AI course

Google and Kaggle recently launched a five-day intensive course about generative AI. Source

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Google and Kaggle recently launched a five-day intensive course about generative AI.

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5 ways our latest Gemini models are changing retail

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Inspiring the next generation of women engineers

Editor’s note: Google and Girlguiding are building on their partnership with the launch of new co-created AI activities and badges, designed to help girls understand how AI-powered tools work and encourage more girls and young women across the country to explore STEM subjects. Nicole McWilliams, Engineering Director, Android Large Screens at Google shares why it’s…

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Editor’s note: Google and Girlguiding are building on their partnership with the launch of new co-created AI activities and badges, designed to help girls understand how AI-powered tools work and encourage more girls and young women across the country to explore STEM subjects. Nicole McWilliams, Engineering Director, Android Large Screens at Google shares why it’s important for more girls and young women to learn about technology and AI.When I was a little girl, my father and I would spend our weekends in his garage taking apart and rebuilding household appliances, like our toasters and alarm clocks. I found the process fascinating. It sparked my interest in understanding why these appliances worked this way, and brainstorming tweaks that might improve them. I’d always loved working with gadgets, so when selecting my university course I thought it made perfect sense to study engineering…until I was told that it might not.The university admissions team nudged me to consider alternative options, concerned that I might be out of place in such a male dominated field. Now that I lead Android’s large screen engineering teams for Google here in the UK, working to incorporate AI-driven features into our products, it’s hard to imagine that at 17 years old, my ability to excel in a field that I love was called into question, purely because of my gender.Stereotypes still persistWe set up Google’s partnership with Girlguiding in 2018 to shatter these longstanding stereotypes and counter the influence of society’s longstanding biases. While so much has changed since my experience in the 90s, sadly, the discouragement I faced isn’t unique. Girlguiding’s Girls Attitude Survey highlights the fact that many outdated ideas still persist:More than half (52%) of girls between the ages of 11 – 18 still feel like STEM subjects are for boys.42% of girls feel that there aren’t enough women role models in STEM.41% of girls are teased for their interest in STEM subjects.We can’t afford for these antiquated assumptions to hold girls back from having the opportunity to shape the AI-powered technologies of the future. AI has the potential to improve how we live, work and interact with the world. From the phones in our pockets to the cars we drive, AI is already everywhere. Technology can be made by anyone, and is for everyone. That’s why we’ve partnered with Girlguiding to empower more girls with the skills needed to create this technology in future.Encouraging more young women to help shape the future of AIThese new activities will showcase how AI can solve real-world problems and encourage the girls to eventually become the innovators and leaders of a technology which is being used to improve health outcomes and tackle climate change. Girls aged 4 – 18 across each of Girlguiding’s sections will learn about generative AI and concepts like machine learning. The activities will enable leaders to demonstrate how AI can boost creativity and gradually build the girls’ confidence in technology.AI Story Writers: Rainbows aged 4 – 7 will work with group leaders to create interactive ‘choose your own adventure’ stories with the help of AI.AI Game Writers: Brownies aged 7 – 10 will work with group leaders to create and play new real-world games with the help of AI.Teach the AI Machine: Guides aged 10 – 14 will explore how machine learning works through a fun real-world game.Accelerate with AI: Rangers aged 14 – 18 will work with group leaders to plan a personalised party or event with the help of AI.We’re excited for over 300,000 Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers across the country to gain valuable insights that will help them in future, whether they decide to build these AI-powered technologies or even just use these tools to achieve their ambitions.Lasting impactBoth the teams at Google and Girlguiding have worked hard to create the sorts of fun and engaging activities that I would have loved to take part in when I was a Brownie. Our hope is that these activities spark an interest in technology for girls across the country, inviting them to challenge and exceed society’s expectations, while inspiring the next generation of female engineers.Check out Girlguiding’s website to learn more about the new AI badge and our other co-created digital discovery activities.

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