IARPA and the Tower of Babel

Once upon a time, according to the Book of Genesis, everyone on Earth "had one language and a common speech," and people built a tower called Babel to celebrate their unity.

But then God -- and I don't know why -- decided he did not like this and scattered people all around speaking different languages. That is why today's Americans who visit Paris and don't speak French get ignored when they try to order a croissant at Ladurée, a marvelous but haughty bakery on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) wants to use advanced speech recognition technology to solve this ongoing language problem with a project called the Babel Program to develop advanced multilingual speech processing systems.

IARPA said it wants to develop speech recognition technology for a much larger set of languages than has ever before been attempted. Its officers would like folks who have any ideas on how to solve this problem to come to a conference on Jan. 20, 2011.

I'd tell you where the conference is being held, but IARPA seems to be keeping it secret behind a complex registration process that requires submitting an e-mail with a reply promised in 48 hours -- if you make the cut.

This makes attending the Babel Program conference harder than ordering a croissant at Ladurée.