Google Crowdsource ditches machine learning and asks you to help with translations

Google has quietly launched a new app for crowdsourcing translations — simply called Crowdsource — that aims to improve the quality of various Google services in different regions, as far as language is concerned at least. The app asks users to perform what it refers to as “microtasks”, each of which takes no more than 5 to 10 seconds to complete, and allows users to contribute their own suggestions regarding handwriting recognition and various forms of image transcription.

Strangely enough, Crowdsource offers no real incentive to its contributors, apart from a vague promise of a greater good, and that goes only as far as Google's own products are concerned. Third parties are not allowed free access to the underlying language database that powers services such as Google Maps or Google Translate.

Once installed, the app asks users which languages they are fluent in and presents them with different tasks from then on. They range from transcribing text from street signs to deciphering handwritten captions, to validating already existing maps translation data. Keep in mind, however, that not all languages have equal volumes of data gathered for them, so, depending on which ones you select, your tasks may vary in volume, content, and diversity. Gathering more data to work with is one of the challenges Google is aiming to tackle with its new undertaking.

So, if you are in the mood for contributing to Google's ever-growing portfolio of services, head over to the Play Store and download Crowdsource (link below). All we can say is that sharing your linguistic knowledge with Google while waiting at the dentist's office may bring you a small sense of accomplishment that, say, endlessly scrolling your Facebook feed may not.




via: Reddit