How Computers Are Changing the Way We Explain the World

Imagine it's the 1950s and you're in charge of one of the world's first electronic computers. A company approaches you and says: "We have 10 million words of French text that we'd like to translate into English. We could hire translators, but is there some way your computer could do the translation automatically?" Original story reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of SimonsFoundation.org whose mission is to enhance public understanding of science by covering research developments and trends in mathematics and the physical and life sciences. At this time, computers are still a novelty, and no one has ever done automated translation. But you decide to attempt it.