iFlyTek accused of 'faking' automated speech translations

Chinese voice recognition company iFlytek was accused by a translator of hiring humans to fake its simultaneous AI-powered interpretation tools. 

Interpreter Bell Wang posted an open letter claiming that the live captioning displayed on screens with iFlytek branding appeared to be transcriptions of human interpreters' work rather than AI-generated translations. 

Wang was part of a team of simultaneous interpreters who had helped translate the 2018 International Forum on Innovation and Emerging Industries Development.

The Forum said it was using iFlytek’s automated speech recognition-based interpretation service, and other interpreters also claimed that they had been offered work interpreting on iFlytek’s behalf.

However, iFlytek CEO Hu Yu responded by claiming that the tool used in the conference was not a translation tool but a transcription tool, suggesting a possible miscommunication or misrepresentation of the technology's capabilities.

The incident raised questions about the accuracy of iFlyTek's translation tools and the integrity of the company's leadership and marketing.