Your long awaited vacation is almost here. After saving up your money and vacation time at work, and chalking your itinerary full of exciting and unique experiences, you are almost ready to jet off. Full of enthusiasm, you are too excited to fall asleep the night before the big day. But soon, you will have a rude awakening. You arrive at your final destination, greeted with a dingy and questionably sanitary hotel room along with a rental car that seems to be holding on by a thread. You come to find that your ‘trusted’ travel agent has lead you astray, hiking up ticket prices for their own monetary gain. Trying to stay positive, you head into town to enjoy the local culture only to find that you cannot communicate. Not even a word. Unfortunately, this is the story for a number of travelers, and oftentimes the ones that wish never to travel again. It is a problem that must be addressed in the travel industry as well as the wider framework of human unity.
Mending Information Asymmetry With Big Data
Thanks to the Internet of things, we are beginning to see some positive changes in the space. Information Asymmetry tends to happen when a party on one side holds an advantage of knowledge over the other party in a transaction. This then creates an unbalanced distribution of understanding between the seller and the adventure seeker. Luckily, with ongoing advancements, we are leveling the playing field and creating greater experiences for consumers. Take Uber for example. In the past, vulnerable travelers would find themselves quite literally going in circles, with sneaky taxi drivers at the wheel hiking up the fare. Now, Uber creates its own logarithm for pricing, leaving less room for human error and the human ego. Now, users can easily access the Uber driver’s profile, see their rating and attain relevant information about the ride ahead. Online travel sites have begun to support the consumer on the other end as well, offering authentic, user uploaded photos and reviews that compel well-informed decisions and empowered travelers on the go.
The Power Of Knowledge In AI
Knowledge is power in today’s marketplace and for AI Translation company, Langogo; this is their ultimate mission. Providing the world’s first two-way translation device, Langogo connects users to the advantages of AI technology as well as 60 plus languages at the touch of a button. Langogo is here for anyone who has ever had a negative travel experience and for anyone who has ever hesitated to buy the ticket in the first place. The intelligent device automatically switches between languages with the best in voice recognition and enhanced accuracy. Simply press the power button to start, select translation and speak away when asking for directions, ordering food, or shopping at the local market. According to Ryan Zhang, Founder of Langogo AI, “It solves not only the problem of translation but also the problem of information asymmetry of local tourist information.” Although it’s not only about mending the problem, it’s about finding greater possibilities as well. “We try to bring wonderful and perfect travel experiences to our users,” he says.
The idea behind Langogo began with Ryan Zhang’s own travel experience and desire to create more meaningful connections across the world. After traveling to Japan with his wife back in 2016, Ryan Zhang realized that unable to speak the language, he inevitably knew very little about the people there. “I then noticed that although we can now travel among countries, we barely travel among cultures.” Language barriers are the first obstacles to overcome this divergent trend in human dynamics. Only then may we restore truth, power, and connection to our journeys, becoming empowered travelers and empowered communities wherever we go. With the advent of modern technology, we may begin to find personal power in travel and collective power in discovering the little things that make us all the same, despite the language we speak.