The future of business meetings without language barriers (thanks to AI)

The psychological aspect. Companies measure the time spent translating documents, delays in processes and misunderstandings in communication, but not what does not happen – such as ideas that are not shared, opportunities that are missed, and talented individuals who remain on the sidelines because they do not feel confident enough to contribute fully.

Could linguistic AI have an even greater impact on business productivity than generative AI?

Generative AI produces content, whilst language AI enables conversations: the difference is substantial. A conversation is two-way, takes place in real time and involves nuances, tones and emotions; improving communication between people means unlocking something far deeper than the mere automation of tasks. When an employee can participate fully in an international meeting, or when a manager can negotiate with a foreign partner in their own language, the impact extends beyond immediate productivity to include trust, the quality of decision-making and the speed with which an organisation can act on a global scale. This kind of impact is much harder to quantify, but it is also far more transformative.

How do you envisage an international meeting in five years’ time?

I imagine it as a conversation in which each person’s language becomes irrelevant for the purposes of communication, but does not disappear as a defining feature of their identity. Everyone speaks in their own language, listens to others in their own language, and the whole process is so seamless that no friction is felt. With DeepL Voice, we are already working towards this, and the results in terms of accuracy, fluency and reliability confirm that we are very close. In five years’ time, real-time voice translation will be integrated into platforms just as microphones and cameras are today: an invisible infrastructure that is simply there and works, without anyone having to think about it. This is precisely the goal we have set ourselves: a completely natural conversation, in which people not only understand one another but also feel at ease. The language we speak is part of who we are, and this will remain true even when technology has solved the problem of cross-linguistic communication.

When we talk about AI agents, we tend to focus primarily on their reasoning abilities. Will linguistic ability be one of the key factors in making these tools truly useful within a business?

Absolutely. The ability to reason without linguistic competence is like having an engine without a gearbox. AI agents will operate in real-world business environments, where instructions are given in natural language, where documents are written in dozens of languages, and where communication with customers and partners is at the heart of every process. An agent that does not understand linguistic nuances, tone or cultural context is not truly useful. Linguistic competence is essential for agents to operate with the accuracy and reliability that businesses require.

Over the past few decades, English has been ‘the language’ of business. If AI were to succeed in breaking down language barriers, would we live in a world where there is no longer a dominant language?

We are witnessing a structural shift, but not the disappearance of a dominant language overnight. English will remain important as a reference language for a long time to come, because it is deeply embedded in the infrastructure of global business, in contracts, standards and corporate culture. What is changing is the requirement at an individual level: it will no longer be necessary to speak English to access the global market.

Final question: will knowledge of a foreign language become a less important skill for managers and professionals in the future? 

It may be less important as an operational requirement, but it will remain valuable as a cultural skill. Learning a language means learning a different way of seeing the world, and this has a value that artificial intelligence cannot replace. I myself grew up between Poland and Germany, and understanding those two worlds – their history, their way of thinking, their unspoken expectations – has given me a perspective that no tool can replicate. What is changing is the strategic role of language as a barrier to entry: until recently, a foreign company wishing to expand into Italia had to hire people who spoke Italian; today, this is no longer necessary. Linguistic AI frees organisations from the operational constraints of language, ensures everyone has the opportunity to communicate, and allows companies to focus on the skills that really make a difference, such as critical thinking or the ability to build relationships. In ten years’ time, those who speak a foreign language will have a different advantage to the one they have today: namely, the ability to truly understand others, to anticipate their expectations and to build trust in a genuine way. That will remain the real competitive advantage, and no machine, however sophisticated, will be able to replace it entirely.