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Though this patent seems like a well-intentioned way of easing cross-cultural communication, there are certainly ways that this tech could go awry, said Brian P. Green, director of technology ethics. 

For starters, depending on the language, there may be bias in how well it translates one accent versus another, said Green. For example, the company’s tech may work far better with American English than with other accents or languages due to data availability.

But even if this tool is trained with ethical data privacy practices and is bias-free, it could still reinforce “value judgments” for certain accents, said Green. 

Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by The Daily Upside.