Introducing Silvia: The AI Assistant for Multilingual Users
In a world where natural language AI assistants have become increasingly proficient in English, it can still be a struggle for those who seamlessly switch between multiple languages. However, a new AI helper called Silvia aims to bridge this gap by understanding “Spanglish” and offering support for other language combinations as well.
Created by Mansidak Singh, a founding product engineer at re:collect AI, Silvia was born out of a conversation with an Argentinian girl who mentioned how her iPhone would often misinterpret mixed language conversations. Singh realized that this problem was more widespread than he initially thought and set out to find a solution.
Unlike traditional AI assistants, Silvia is a small app that appears on the left side of your keyboard. By tapping on the app, users can speak in their preferred mixture of languages, and Silvia will accurately transcribe the conversation. Initially supporting Spanish and English, the app plans to expand its language capabilities to include French, Romanian, Ukrainian, German, and Dutch in the near future. Furthermore, a custom keyboard version will be available for non-Apple apps.
While users may wonder why languages like Hindi and English are not included, Singh explains that the current approach is tailored for Germanic languages that utilize the Roman alphabet. However, as technology advances, it is possible that Silvia will expand its language support even further.
One might be curious about the speed at which Silvia was developed. Singh attributes this to the robust APIs available, particularly the new Translation API in iOS 18. By leveraging this API and combining it with OpenAI Whisper for cleaning up the text, Silvia is able to function lightning fast.
In terms of privacy, Silvia does not store any user data, ensuring that users can trust the app with their conversations. Additionally, it has been approved by Apple, further solidifying its credibility.
Unlike other AI products that claim to revolutionize the world, Silvia simply aims to reflect the world more accurately. Its purpose is to provide a seamless multilingual experience for users, enabling them to communicate effortlessly in their preferred language combinations.
Silvia is set to be released at the end of the month, and interested users can either download it directly or sign up for notifications to stay updated. With its unique capability to understand “Spanglish” and its plans for expansion into other languages, Silvia promises to be a valuable tool for multilingual individuals seeking a more inclusive AI experience.
