Can today’s language gadgets and apps match human translators and interpreters? Are jokes in German funny if they are told by a machine?

Modern Languages on the Gadget Show

Such were the questions considered by Channel 5's Gadget Show during a day-long shoot earlier this term with students and staff from the Department of Modern Languages, which culminated in a machines-versus-humans translation and interpreting competition in the Muirhead Tower. The episode was screened on Channel 5 on Monday 26 October, and is available to watch again on Channel5 website (see particularly minutes 16.45-23 and 42-47).