Automatic subtitles arrive on direct Facebook and Instagram videos

An artificial intelligence is able to recognize dialogues and transcribe them live. It starts with six languages, including Italian.

Facebook automatically generates subtitles for live videos (image: Facebook) Facebook has decided to make its live video content more accessible by enabling automatic subtitles for Facebook Live, Workplace Live and for Igtv on Instagram.

Despite Facebook already providing subtitles on uploaded videos covering over 16 languages, the live component still lacked this indispensable tool for deaf users. Menlo Park, however, realized that, during the pandemic, numerous videos were transmitted through its platforms, even live, without subtitles. Although many had the interpreter of the international sign language who translated the words spoken by the interlocutors into gestures, Facebook decided to work on subtitles.

Researchers and engineers of the company then started working on an artificial intelligence able to automatically generate subtitles from live videos quickly and accurately. For the time being, Facebook and Instagram will provide the service in six languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and French.

“The speed and reach of this AI-based technology has only been possible thanks to to the advances Facebook Ai has made in automated speech recognition (Asr) in recent years, ”explains Daniel McKinnon, Facebook Product Manager.