In context: Deciphering handwriting has proven difficult for computers, but Google is working to improve its methods. The company's AI-based attempt to read even the messiest handwriting is starting small, focusing on a specific profession to help create accurate results and assist in a crucial aspect of everyday life.
Google has demonstrated a tool for AI to read and transcribe hastily-written prescriptions and doctors' notes. The feature isn't ready for public use yet but could improve the company's existing transcription software.
The prototype is one of the technologies Google presented at its 2022 Google for India event. It analyzes a doctor's writing style and combines what it learns with known medical information.
If the tool knows a patient's symptoms along with where a doctor would likely list a medication on a prescription sheet, it can try to decipher its first and last letters. Then, it compares that information against common treatments for the symptoms to determine which ones the doctor wrote down.
The functionality is still in development, and Google stresses that it isn't meant to be used alone. Google Lens already attempts to read text within photos but struggles with handwriting. The prescription reader could improve its accuracy and eventually learn to decipher other notes like recipes.
Google also showcased a couple of new YouTube features it's testing in the South Asian market but could later spread globally.
After noticing the popularity of educational content on YouTube, Google has introduced Courses, a tool for educators who upload videos. When it debuts in India soon, Courses will let teachers and professors release videos with reading content and quizzes attached, accessible directly from the app.
Educators can choose to offer the videos for free or charge for them, and users who buy the videos can watch them without ads. Currently in beta, the feature promises to offer courses in various academic and vocational subjects in multiple languages.
Multi-language audio support is another YouTube feature Google is debuting in India. YouTube videos have been able to include subtitles for multiple languages for a while, but Google is working on letting videos switch between multiple audio tracks.
The company will first test the functionality with healthcare videos available in English, Hindi, Marathi, and Punjabi. Google could eventually allow multi-audio YouTube videos globally and for other languages, so some users would no longer have to upload multiple versions of the same video.