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I’m gonna say it: I hate learning new languages. I’ve lived in four different countries outside my native one, and the only place I managed to become fluent in the local language was the one my family moved to when I was still young, and my brain was still so plastic. Ever since then, in time, I have developed almost a phobia of learning new languages.

So what can AI do to help with this?

Well of course, AI has been involved in language-learning technological applications for quite some time now. Most popular language-learning apps, like Duolingo or Babbel, use some form of AI-powered voice recognition to facilitate pronunciation learning. AI is also commonly used for discerning the level that a user is at, and providing them the appropriate (pre-generated) content to improve. But that is old news. With the explosion of ChatGPT, what are some innovative ways that companies are leveraging these new-found AI capabilities to help me learn a language in a way that doesn’t make me hate my life?

I’ve been having fun with Talkpal.

In every “traditional” (i.e. in person) language class I’ve had, I always felt that the most useful part was always the “forced” conversation with a partner, as awkward as it was (for me at least). With previous online tools like Duolingo or Babbel, I always felt that this aspect was missing, since they never had an integrated section for natural, free-flowing conversation. Talkpal bridges that gap between traditional, interaction-based learning and online resources. It is a GPT-powered AI chatbot that can act like your personal language teacher – but one that interacts with you and responds according to whatever input, not a pre-generated “correct” or “incorrect” answer. It also has the ability to engage in various roleplaying scenarios to practice vocabulary or tone, like grocery shopping. And hidden behind a paywall is also a “photo mode”, focused on describing and discussing images.

I know its going to fade, but at least for a while, I’m going to have some fun practicing my French with it.

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One of my favorite things about the recent explosion in AI capabilities is the that the possibilities on the horizon are so naively self-evident. Unlike some of the technological hypes of the last few years (cough, cough) that required hours upon hours and even university-level classes to get barely comfortable with the concepts, everything about generative AI is so… freeing. It just works. How it works – that’s a very different story. But what “it” does requires no power to understand.

My favorite recent example of this is Boomy – a music generative AI tool whose unique selling point is that it provides users with the ability to monetize their creation, while also facilitating the administrative side. On the website, you are prompted to start creating, save five songs, and then package them together into a release that you can submit to streaming platforms and earn royalties from.

Really? You can do that?

Of course, that’s not what makes Boomy so attractive. Platforms that advertise the ability to make some form of passive income while sitting on your couch are a hallmark of the internet, and somehow, we are not all rich yet. No, what makes Boomy so fascinating and fun is just how easy it is to use, while maintaining the depth that creativity requires, but also – how good it is. How they achieve this balance is also interesting. They play to their strengths, and they don’t touch vocal generation – only alteration. Boomy does not generate vocals, but it does allow users to easily upload vocals over the music they have generated, and – if desired – it can alter those vocals to match the song.

Although I’m far from a technophobe by any means, I’ve not explored creative generative AI beyond ChatGPT. My creative form of choice is text, and I am usually content to wonder at and ponder on others’ use of AI in other creative mediums. But Boomy hits a spot, and I strongly encourage a short visit to give it a try.