In October 2021, the first LITHME training school took place at UNED in Avila, Spain. This also formed the backdrop for recording the documentary “Here comes the Human-Machine Era” produced by UNED and LA 2 de TVE.
All the working groups are represented in the documentary with Dave Sayers, the Chair of LITHME, providing the rationale for this COST Action and explaining how new technologies will impact on the use of language and how this will challenge current and future linguistic and technological research.
Representatives from each of the working groups explore some of the challenges and opportunities of these new technologies and the effects this will have on different aspects of communication, ranging from teaching and learning languages to different professional contexts, for example, the legal or translators’ profession.
New technologies are changing the ways languages are used, both for majority and minority languages, and it is important to consider what this impact means for the diversity of languages and language varieties as well as the domains in which a language is used.
The documentary captured the spirit of the training school: an opportunity to exchange knowledge and research across a range of disciplines and perspectives to prepare the world for the human-machine era.
The documentary was broadcast on Spanish national television on the 10th of December 2021 but can also be found on: