Does It Always Have to Be AI?

AI is a real game changer – no question. We use it daily: for development, code review, to optimize our communication, or for the header image of this post :-). It often saves time, sometimes also nerves. But honestly: AI also costs. Not only money, but sometimes also complexity and resources.

Want a Customer Example?

A customer wanted to transfer content from a legacy system to a Staffbase app. The app supports multilingualism – great! The idea: Import articles directly in the respective language. The problem: The old system didn’t even know what language the articles were written in. So: Detect the language!

AI Solution

Azure AI Translation Service offers an endpoint for language detection – it works, but it’s not free and comes with dependencies.

The Alternative?

With a bit of logical common sense and a few lines of code, the problem can also be solved: Count the frequency of certain words in the languages in question (mathematics says hello!) – and the language is detected. Fast, cheap, and in 99% of cases completely sufficient.

My Conclusion

AI is powerful, but not always necessary. Sometimes common sense is enough – and nothing can replace that.