Bias in Language

Language is one of the primary ways that humans communicate bias. Words can make us feel a complete spectrum of emotion, from acceptance and love to anger and hatred. Because language is a means of communicating bias, an effective language learning application has the potential to go beyond being neutral to bias and to actually help erase bias. For example, the Sylvia bot can be trained to help users to speak positively about other people and places. Although people are naturally inclined to be distrustful of things that are unfamiliar to them, Sylvia could help users learn cultural norms in foreign countries in order to be more comfortable in unfamiliar situations and more accepting of other people than they would be on their own.

In terms of accessibility, I hope that Sylvia can be something that helps people break down barriers to learning a new language, instead of building up new barriers. I envision that the biggest thing holding people back from using this technology would be financial constraints. One way to navigate around this would be to install language labs in public libraries where anyone can come in and speak with Sylvia and receive feedback that they could apply to their independent language study. Another thing to consider is which languages Sylvia will be able to speak. Hopefully over time it will be able to teach users any language, but the first ones will have to be selected from the most common languages.

As a native English speaker who has never lived in or even traveled to a non-English speaking country, my understanding of the struggle to communicate in a foreign country’s native tongue is limited. I’m biased towards looking at language learning as a fun hobby rather than an unwanted uphill battle, like it is for some people. Since I want this product to be able to reach everyone who is trying to learn a second language, I must remember to be aware of the various reasons that people have for learning languages. To apply this to our research, I plan to interview people from a variety of different backgrounds to gain multiple perspectives on language learning.

I sincerely hope that this product can be something that helps bring people together. If properly executed, a language learning bot could allow humanity to take a massive step towards understanding each other better.