Chinese company iFlytek, which manufactures voice recognition devices, brought a group of 500 artificially intelligent "volunteers"—iFlytek AI Translators—to the Boao Forum of the Asia 2018 Annual Conference, which runs from April 8 to 11 in Boao, Hainan province.

The devices were designed specifically for the Boao Forum for Asia, which is adopting AI translators for the first time.

Foreign guests experience iFlytek's AI Translator at the Boao Forum for Asia 2018 Annual Conference. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Zhongguancun-based company's AI Translator can translate between Chinese and five foreign languages--English, Japanese, Korean, French, and Spanish. The Chinese-English translation devices are also able to provide offline translation.

According to Liu Qingfeng, president of iFlytek, "Artificial intelligence is improving, but its abilities shouldn't be overstated. When it comes to simultaneous interpretation, the machines are at the College English Test Band 6 level on average. It will not eliminate the need for actual interpreters."

The AI translators will alleviate the burden on volunteers at the Boao Forum and provide better service to foreign guests.

Liu Qingfeng, president of iFlytek, talk to reporters during a press conference at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, on April 10, 2018. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A separate online platform developed by iFlytek is able to transliterate speeches in real-time, making communication much easier for participants in each forum.

The transliteration system can not only transcribe Chinese and English speeches on the screen in real time, but also provide users with translations. It can be printed out after the forum and has an accuracy rate of 95 percent.

Adopting the slogan "An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity", the Boao Forum for Asia 2018 Annual Conference is a high-level forum for leaders from governments, businesses and academia in Asia and other parts of the world.

iFlytek's online transliteration platform displays a Chinese speech on the screen in real time with its English translation at the Boao Forum for Asia 2018 Annual Conference. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]