1
00:00:00,340 --> 00:00:03,086
♪ (playful music) ♪
2
00:00:03,851 --> 00:00:06,223
(laughter)
3
00:00:08,299 --> 00:00:09,802
Hi, I'm Jana.
4
00:00:09,802 --> 00:00:14,425
I manage the Accounting and HR functions.
5
00:00:14,555 --> 00:00:17,234
My name is Margarita.
6
00:00:17,234 --> 00:00:20,475
I work as a Software Tester with Amara.
7
00:00:23,900 --> 00:00:29,818
Most likely table tennis or cycling
to one of our local beautiful beaches.
8
00:00:30,168 --> 00:00:31,386
I like cooking.
9
00:00:31,386 --> 00:00:33,237
And also, I do some volunteer work.
10
00:00:33,237 --> 00:00:33,933
Reading.
11
00:00:33,933 --> 00:00:34,527
Reading.
12
00:00:34,527 --> 00:00:37,293
Reading an interesting book.
13
00:00:40,535 --> 00:00:42,356
(chuckles) I have six dogs.
14
00:00:42,356 --> 00:00:43,986
They're all rescued,
15
00:00:43,986 --> 00:00:46,393
so I play a lot with my dogs.
16
00:00:46,493 --> 00:00:49,202
I have a peace lily
that I've had for years.
17
00:00:49,252 --> 00:00:51,512
This is Lily Tomlin, no relation.
18
00:00:56,097 --> 00:00:58,265
Just connecting with our audience.
19
00:00:58,265 --> 00:01:03,574
Just to make somebody's life
a little bit easier just for that moment
20
00:01:03,574 --> 00:01:07,567
that they're reading
my support article or whatever it is.
21
00:01:08,216 --> 00:01:12,990
At the end of the project,
when I'm actually delivering,
22
00:01:12,990 --> 00:01:17,595
let's say, a completed video
with some captions and subtitles,
23
00:01:17,595 --> 00:01:21,120
that actually makes me feel
like, really, really fulfilled,
24
00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,536
like, "Oh, now we have
more videos out there
25
00:01:24,536 --> 00:01:27,957
that have captions and subtitles,
more people will be able to access it."
26
00:01:28,202 --> 00:01:29,502
Absolutely the people.
27
00:01:29,502 --> 00:01:34,118
Everyone's interest in
making the world better truly
28
00:01:34,118 --> 00:01:37,149
is just unbelievable.
29
00:01:37,149 --> 00:01:41,325
Everybody has this thing
that somehow is motivated
30
00:01:41,325 --> 00:01:44,580
by the overall mission of Amara,
31
00:01:44,580 --> 00:01:46,845
which is actually to provide accessibility
32
00:01:46,845 --> 00:01:51,606
and also use their skills
to share information with others.
33
00:01:52,036 --> 00:01:55,487
It's a special culture,
34
00:01:55,487 --> 00:02:00,804
there's not much of a top-down hierarchy.
35
00:02:00,804 --> 00:02:03,861
It's really a cooperative effort.
36
00:02:03,861 --> 00:02:08,872
We're all very spread
geographically and in time
37
00:02:08,872 --> 00:02:12,834
but we always find time for each other.
38
00:02:17,287 --> 00:02:19,868
(chuckles) I'm only fluent in English
39
00:02:19,868 --> 00:02:23,894
but I'm learning
American Sign Language, Russian.
40
00:02:23,894 --> 00:02:27,592
My spouse's family is
from the former Soviet Union,
41
00:02:27,592 --> 00:02:32,419
so I'd like to be able to speak to
the other generations in that family.
42
00:02:32,472 --> 00:02:36,261
English, Spanish, as my native language.
43
00:02:36,261 --> 00:02:40,120
My native language is Russian
and I use English for work.
44
00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:43,039
Cantonese, a little bit of Mandarin.
45
00:02:43,039 --> 00:02:47,970
I have also learned some Spanish,
German and Chinese.
46
00:02:47,970 --> 00:02:50,688
French and a little bit of Arabic.
47
00:02:51,387 --> 00:02:54,278
I speak English and about
48
00:02:54,278 --> 00:02:57,647
this much Spanish.
(laughter)
49
00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,434
Either 2010 or 2013?
50
00:03:04,961 --> 00:03:06,615
2006?
51
00:03:09,054 --> 00:03:09,977
2001?
52
00:03:11,102 --> 00:03:13,253
Yeah, no, I don't know.
(chuckles)
53
00:03:13,412 --> 00:03:15,156
2010.
54
00:03:15,316 --> 00:03:19,151
That's when the first prototype
was created.
55
00:03:19,151 --> 00:03:20,893
I witnessed it,
56
00:03:20,893 --> 00:03:23,608
I was volunteering with Amara back then.
57
00:03:27,359 --> 00:03:29,833
That everyone has the same opportunity
58
00:03:29,833 --> 00:03:35,067
being able to understand
the world through video
59
00:03:35,067 --> 00:03:38,934
and through the captioning
and translation that we do,
60
00:03:38,934 --> 00:03:41,035
and that other people do,
61
00:03:41,035 --> 00:03:42,361
no limits.
62
00:03:42,605 --> 00:03:43,918
It means a lot.
63
00:03:43,918 --> 00:03:48,478
I have a cochlear implant,
and they are hearing aid.
64
00:03:48,478 --> 00:03:54,305
Without them, I cannot hear
practically anything at all
65
00:03:54,305 --> 00:04:00,618
and with them, it is okay
in one-to-one personal conversations
66
00:04:00,618 --> 00:04:05,961
but not so nice
when you use something technical,
67
00:04:05,961 --> 00:04:11,100
when you're watching videos,
or talk over the phone,
68
00:04:11,100 --> 00:04:15,836
so subtitles mean a great deal.
69
00:04:16,966 --> 00:04:21,448
Accessibility to me starts with empathy.
70
00:04:21,664 --> 00:04:25,079
A lot of my friends, actually,
don't speak English,
71
00:04:25,079 --> 00:04:29,861
so being able to help
to make a lot of the information
72
00:04:29,861 --> 00:04:33,373
that I have helped
to subtitle into Spanish,
73
00:04:33,373 --> 00:04:37,268
if I can share it with some
of my friends back in Venezuela,
74
00:04:37,268 --> 00:04:39,589
or my family, or my mom,
75
00:04:39,589 --> 00:04:40,869
it feels really good.
76
00:04:44,931 --> 00:04:48,376
Acceptance and...
77
00:04:49,152 --> 00:04:52,373
I mean, the world
is in such a difficult place.
78
00:04:52,433 --> 00:04:55,386
Communicating, you know,
just communicating.
79
00:04:55,386 --> 00:04:57,767
When we work every day
with so many people
80
00:04:57,767 --> 00:04:59,899
from so many other countries,
81
00:04:59,899 --> 00:05:04,752
you just realize people are different
but the same, from all over.
82
00:05:05,201 --> 00:05:08,346
I think there's a lot
of untapped potential
83
00:05:08,346 --> 00:05:14,158
for this tool to be used
by other types of users.
84
00:05:14,158 --> 00:05:17,453
Transcription is a great opportunity
85
00:05:17,453 --> 00:05:22,003
for people who have vision problems
to find employment.
86
00:05:22,003 --> 00:05:24,933
I really hope to see this happen.
87
00:05:25,013 --> 00:05:30,065
Using AI to generate
subtitles and captions,
88
00:05:30,065 --> 00:05:32,858
you know, that has been
on the rise for the last few years
89
00:05:32,858 --> 00:05:37,475
and there has been a lot of humor
and a lot of mistakes,
90
00:05:37,475 --> 00:05:41,245
and that definitely highlights
how important people are
91
00:05:41,245 --> 00:05:44,555
to the process of language in any form.
92
00:05:44,555 --> 00:05:47,187
I'm hoping that the way
that we treat people,
93
00:05:47,187 --> 00:05:50,134
and the way that we put
their experience first,
94
00:05:50,134 --> 00:05:52,223
and their abilities first,
95
00:05:52,223 --> 00:05:56,788
will be noticed
and that that will inspire
96
00:05:56,788 --> 00:06:00,255
other people to say
that it's not impossible to do that.
97
00:06:00,312 --> 00:06:02,622
English captions by
Jenny Lam-Chowdhury