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Welcome to "On the Net Today". Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we bring you a handpicked selection of three valuable and interesting online resources to help you get the most out of the internet and optimize your browsing time.

Here are the three resources we've prepared for today:

• Enjoy TED Talks in multiple languages thanks to AI

• Perplexity: The AI search engine that wants to compete with Google

• Duolingo, the popular free app for learning languages in an entertaining and personalized way

Enjoy TED Talks in multiple languages thanks to AI

Want to listen to the famous TED Talks in your own language?

TED has launched a pilot program that allows viewers to watch and listen to a selection of TED Talks in various languages - Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese, in addition to English - thanks to artificial intelligence.

These multilingual talks feature AI-generated audio (voice cloning) and lip-syncing using Panjaya's AI technology, in collaboration with TED's translator community. This way, the videos preserve each speaker's unique voice and style.

“At TED, we believe that ideas are universal and that they should be accessible to everyone. Yet language barriers often hinder access to our talks, many of which are delivered in English. To tackle this issue head-on, we’re expanding our multilingual initiatives, building on the success of TED’s subtitling program by combining human and artificial intelligence. This approach aims to enhance inclusivity and enrich the experiences for TED’s diverse global audiences.”

TED has worked “closely with each speaker to obtain their consent and ensure that their message is faithfully conveyed in multiple languages, allowing their talks to resonate with audiences worldwide.”

These are the first multilingual TED Talks available: 

• Lera Boroditsky: How language shapes the way we think

• Guy Winch: How to fix a broken heart

• Lisa Bu: How books can open your mind

• Angelica Dass: The beauty of human skin in every color

• Terry Moore: A mysterious design that appears across millennia

• Chris Anderson: It’s time for infectious generosity. Here’s how

• Monica Araya: How cities are detoxing transportation

• Manoush Zomorodi: How boredom can lead to your most brilliant ideas

More information:

• Announcing AI-adapted multilingual TED Talks, unblocking language barriers

Perplexity: The AI search engine that wants to compete with Google

Perplexity AI is an AI-powered research and conversational search engine that aims to compete with Google and other traditional search engines. It provides answers to users' queries through a conversational interface, in natural language, and includes references to the online sources it has used to create its response. Users can continue asking questions based on that initial response to refine their query.

This search engine was founded in 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinsky, engineers who had worked at companies like OpenAI and Meta, among others. Its investors include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Nvidia.

Perplexity search engine offers a free basic service, which allows unlimited basic queries and five Pro searches per day, and a professional service that currently costs (October 2024) $20 per month and allows more than 300 professional queries per day, selecting the user's preferred AI model, uploading and analyzing files, and other advantages.

Since its launch, Perplexity has become one of the generative AI companies that has gained the most prominence among users. 

Link:

• Perplexity 

Duolingo, the popular free app for learning languages in an entertaining and personalized way

Duolingo is a free app launched in 2012 that has become one of the most popular tools for learning a new language - more than 40 different ones - among users worldwide.

The Duolingo app bases its approach on a fun and personalized learning system where users earn rewards as they progress. Its creators combine "science-backed teaching methods and entertaining content" to create courses "that efficiently teach reading, writing, understanding, and speaking in other languages."

Duolingo has accumulated more than 500 million users worldwide, according to the company.

Duolingo generates revenue through advertising and paid premium services like Super Duolingo, which offers various advantages to users.

In addition to the main app, Duolingo has other products, such as Duolingo ABC for teaching reading; Duolingo English Test for measuring English language proficiency; and Duolingo Math for learning mathematics. 

The company was founded in 2011 by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker. Its headquarters is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (United States).

Links:

• Duolingo 

• App on the App Store (Apple)

• App on Google Play (Android)

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