Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Definitely not. I took this same basic idea of feeding videos into Whisper to get SRT subtitles and took it a step further to make automatic Anki flashcards for listening practice in foreign languages [1]. I literally feel like I'm living in the future every time I run across one of those cards from whatever silly Finnish video I found on YouTube pops up in my queue.

These models have made it possible to robustly practice all 4 quadrants of language learning for most common languages using nothing but a computer, not just passive reading. Whisper is directly responsible for 2 of those quadrants, listening and speaking. LLMs are responsible for writing [2]. We absolutely live in the future.

[1]: https://github.com/hiandrewquinn/audio2anki

[2]: https://hiandrewquinn.github.io/til-site/posts/llm-tutored-w...






Hi Andrew, I've been trying to get a similar audio language support app hacked together in a podcast player format (I started with Anytime Player) using some of the same principles in your project (transcript generation, chunking, level & obscurity aware timestamped hints and translations).

I really think support for native content is the ideal way to learn for someone like me, especially with listening.

Thanks for posting and good luck.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: