How Language Tech, AI, and Holoportation Are Shaping the Future with Dieter Runge
Dieter Runge
Co-founder and VP of Global Strategy, Boostlingo
Building the Universal Translator
Dieter Runge is the co-founder and Vice President of Global Strategy and Business Development at Boostlingo, a language access technology platform. Born in California, raised on Vancouver Island, and now based in Australia, Dieter has worked in the language industry for over 19 years across companies including Skillsoft and Lionbridge.
The origin story: over cocktails in San Francisco, a serial entrepreneur friend asked him where he would disrupt if he had to. Dieter's answer was immediate. Nobody needs another translation management system, but the interpreting space was a disaster. Every provider used different platforms, interpreters relied on hacks, and the experience was misery for everyone involved. A week later, the friend called back and asked if Dieter could sell an MVP. He could. Boostlingo was born with four people sleeping under their desks.
The deeper inspiration goes back to Star Trek. Of all the technology in the franchise, the universal translator was the one that captivated Dieter. If Shazam can identify a song in a noisy nightclub, he reasoned, then we can Shazam languages and connect someone who speaks that language in real time. That vision became the product.
Holoportation and Sign Language
Dieter is excited about holoportation technology: life-size 3D video boxes that display a person in three dimensions without requiring VR glasses. The Queensland Department of Education is already using them to deliver teachers to remote locations. But what struck Dieter immediately was the application for sign language. The deaf and hard of hearing community has tested the technology and found it transformative because of the six degrees of mobility and high definition: you do not miss any hand gestures. Imagine walking into an airport or hospital and having a holoportation box with a live interpreter who speaks your language or signs in your sign language.
William Shatner has been a spokesperson for the holoportation technology and came to Australia to demo it. Dieter notes the Star Trek connection is not a coincidence.
Language Access Saves Lives
Dieter gets emotional when he hears about Boostlingo's technology being used in healthcare emergencies and natural disasters. Nothing is more stressful than ending up in a hospital where you do not speak the language. Nothing is more distressing than being caught in a natural disaster and not knowing where the shelter is because you cannot communicate. Having access to someone who speaks your language will bring your blood pressure down at least 20 points.
The technology connects people to professional interpreters who adhere to a code of ethics, are trained and experienced, and have the emotional intelligence to manage difficult situations. Ten years ago, people would wait 30 to 45 minutes for an interpreter to show up for a medical appointment because no one nearby spoke Hmong or Dinka. That excuse no longer exists.
Living LARGE
Dieter has coined the acronym LARGE: Language Access, Rights, Justice, and Equity. Language access is the provision of services that allow people with limited proficiency in a dominant language to communicate and access essential information. Language rights are the entitlements to use your language in legal and administrative settings without discrimination. Language justice dismantles the systemic inequalities tied to language and acknowledges the power dynamics when certain languages are privileged over others. Language equity is the principle that all languages should be valued equally regardless of prominence or number of speakers.
AI Will Reverse the Digital Divide
Rather than taking a doom-and-gloom view of AI and language, Dieter argues AI will reverse the trend of language extinction. Large language models are being trained on languages of lesser diffusion. Michael Runningwolf is teaching AI to Native American students to help them rebuild their languages. That model is being duplicated in Central and South America for indigenous languages. Once a model gets trained, someone will import it into their ecosystem, and languages will start to make a comeback.
Beyond Translation: The Native Experience Podcast is produced by LEXIGO, Australia's trusted translation and multicultural communication agency.
Beyond Translation: The Native Experience Podcast explores multicultural communication, translation, and culturally diverse engagement in Australia and beyond. Each episode features experts sharing real stories and practical insights on topics from multicultural campaign strategy to CALD community engagement and localisation best practices. Produced by LEXIGO, Australia's trusted translation and multicultural communication agency with triple ISO certification and NAATI certified translators across 171 languages.
Dieter: I get very misty when I hear about our technology being used in moments of dire healthcare situations or during disasters, climate disaster level stuff. The reality is that if you can communicate, it is an incremental quality of life improvement for you no matter what. Nothing more stressful than ending up in a hospital where you do not speak the language. Nothing more distressful than being caught in a natural disaster and you do not know where the shelter is or what to do because you do not speak the language. These countries are growing through migration. And there are so many folks that just having access to someone that speaks your language will bring your blood pressure down at least 20 points.
Brian: Today we are with Dieter Runge, co-founder and Vice President of Global Strategy and Business Development at Boostlingo. Dieter has a passion for better living through technology, particularly at the intersection of human creativity, cognition, and communication. He was recently listed as one of the top 100 influencers in the language industry. Dieter, welcome to The Native Experience.
Dieter: Thanks to you.
Brian: Tell us about yourself and what you are nerding out on right now.
Dieter: I was born in California but my parents whisked me away to Canada. I grew up on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I worked for an e-learning company called Smartforce which rebranded as Skillsoft. I was a program manager overseeing production of learning software for Microsoft products. Part of my role was to sim-ship it in multiple languages. That led to connections in the language space. Then a role opened up in Seattle and I joined the Lionbridge crew as a language program manager. They really got me excited about language.
Dieter: Then I met a girl who happened to live in Australia. One of us had to move. I pulled the short straw. I ended up in Australia and was consulting on language projects back in the US. Towards the end of one project, I reconnected with a buddy who was a serial entrepreneur. We went out for cocktails in San Francisco and he asked me, where would you disrupt if you had to? I said nobody needs another translation management system. But if I had to place my bets, the interpreting space is a disaster. Everybody is across all sorts of different platforms, no consistency, interpreters using hacks.
Dieter: A week later he called and said, if we build an MVP, could you sell it? I said yeah, totally. He built the MVP, demoed it for me, and I said we have got to sell this. Boostlingo was created. Very humble beginnings. There were four of us sleeping under our desks. The first year we grew from four to maybe seven.
Dieter: I am a Star Trek fan. The one tech I always loved was the universal translator. I thought, can we build this? I looked at tech like Shazam. If you can walk into a noisy nightclub and Shazam identifies the track, then we can Shazam languages and get somebody that speaks that language with that immediacy. That tech was always exciting to me. So we built the universal translator.
Dieter: COVID put the spotlight on needing to communicate virtually. If anything, it shone a spotlight on, we have to continue to communicate in multiple languages all the time across every sector and vertical.
Brian: What are you nerding out on?
Dieter: I am very bullish on AI support for language. But adjacent to that is other really cool tech. VR, augmented reality. I picked up a Meta 3. Holoportation is really amazing. It is basically a life-size box with a white background and three-dimensional video. You do not need lenses. It is 3D and you can shoot the video in 4K with an iPhone 14 or better. Queensland Department of Education is using it. There is a teacher deficit in Australia and they are using holoportation to get teachers to remote locations.
Dieter: For me, the thing that struck me immediately was that would be great for Australian sign language or American sign language. We tested it and the deaf and hard of hearing community that experienced it found it next level. You have six degrees of mobility and it is high definition so you do not miss any hand gestures. Imagine walking into an airport and you have a holobox and there is someone that speaks your language, or imagine one set up in a hospital with real-time holoteleported language support.
Dieter: William Shatner has been the spokesperson for the holoportation tech for a couple of years. He came to Australia to demo it. Star Trek was always about a more positive and utopian ideal for humanity. That resonates with me. As we build technologies, we need to focus our energies for good.
Brian: Have you heard stories of the technology being used to make an incredible impact?
Dieter: A hundred percent. I get very misty when I hear about our technology being used in dire healthcare situations or during disasters. If you can communicate, it is an incremental quality of life improvement. Nothing more stressful than ending up in a hospital where you do not speak the language. Nothing more distressful than being caught in a natural disaster and you do not know where the shelter is. Having access to someone that speaks your language will bring your blood pressure down at least 20 points.
Dieter: This technology allows folks to connect to professional interpreters who adhere to a code of ethics, are trained and experienced, and have the emotional intelligence to manage situations. In the past, people would wait 30 or 45 minutes for an interpreter to show up for a medical appointment because there was nobody that could speak Hmong or Dinka. That excuse does not exist anymore. Handing an iPad with an interpreter on hand, that is an incremental quality of life improvement. Everybody should have access to that.
Dieter: I call it LARGE: Language Access, Rights, Justice, and Equity. Language access refers to the provision of services and resources that allow individuals with limited proficiency in a dominant language to effectively communicate and access essential information. It ensures we are reducing or eliminating language barriers so people can receive vital services and participate in their community.
Dieter: Language rights are the entitlements and freedoms related to the use of your language, including in legal and administrative settings without being discriminated against. There are some countries where that does not even exist. Language justice is a framework that goes beyond access to recognise and dismantle the systemic inequalities tied to language. It acknowledges the power dynamics when certain languages are privileged and others are not. Language equity is the principle that all languages should be valued equally regardless of prominence or number of speakers.
Brian: What about technology equity and the digital divide?
Dieter: I want to flip the script and say AI is actually going to reverse that trend. Some AI tools, in circumstances that are not context heavy or culturally heavy, any language support will do as long as it is accurate. People are training large language models on languages of lesser diffusion and slowly these languages are making a resurgence. Michael Runningwolf is teaching AI to Native American students and helping them rebuild their language. That model is being duplicated in other countries for other indigenous languages. Great stuff going on in Central and South America. The tech is going to help improve the situation, not make it worse.
Brian: What is your advice for providing native experiences?
Dieter: It is all about being mindful about who is around you. We all get siloed in whatever work we are doing. It is very easy to not be aware of the struggles that exist in communities just next door. Language is the great equaliser. Be the force for good you want to see in the world. Poke your hand out of the gopher hole, see what is going on. I want to be a successful technology company, but more importantly, is what I am doing making it a better planet? Is it improving the human condition? The rising tide raises all boats. That begins by taking a beat, looking around, seeing who needs help, and being actively engaged in starting a community.
Brian: Dieter, thank you so much.
Dieter: I am just getting warmed up, Brian. Come back for part two.
Brian: Dieter Runge, co-founder and VP of Global Strategy and Business Development at Boostlingo. Remember, always strive for authenticity and embrace the power of native experiences.