• Nick Renotte, data science and AI specialist at IBM, believes tech has the power to improve how people communicate.
• After reading an article on machine and deep learning, he decided to learn to code.
• Now, Renotte is on a mission to help people communicate.
• This article is part of “The New Creators” series, a collaboration between IBM and Insider Studios that celebrates the visionaries creatively applying technology to drive change in business.

Nicholas Renotte knows technology has the power to change the world. From connecting people in ways they otherwise thought impossible to improving access to information, tech can be a force for good. So he’s doing his part by using advanced technology to improve how people communicate.

Renotte is a driving force behind making technology that bridges communication gaps, such as helping businesses better serve their customers and making sign language more accessible. He works as a data science and AI technical specialist for IBM, focusing on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning technology.

“A big part of what I aim to do is to make the world just a little better,” Renotte said. “If I can do that, then I think my time on this planet would have been well served.”

A better way to translate sign language

Renotte didn’t always have ambitions of a career in tech. After all, he’s not a computer scientist or data scientist by trade; he’s an accountant. When an article on machine learning and deep learning sparked his interest, he decided to learn to code. He realized he was skilled at taking complex ideas and scaling them down so others could better understand.

As a largely self-taught coder, Renotte focused initially on creating a program dedicated to increasing accessibility for people who speak sign language through translating what they’re signing.

“Right now, we’ve got a reasonably high level of accuracy: up to 99% for certain signs,” he noted.

Renotte says he sees incredible potential with the program. He hopes to see it embedded as a standard part of a device’s translation capabilities on the cell phones of the future.

So how does this program actually work? Using a device’s camera, the program uses AI to decode different signs in different languages. It can take an image of someone signing in Australian Sign Language or American Sign Language, for example, and use deep learning models to determine which word is being said, Renotte explained.

“I think it’s for the greater good,” he added. “Let’s say you don’t actually speak sign language … we can use models to translate it for you. It’s improving accessibility.”

Renotte also created a program that can read a person’s sound waves and facial expressions as they speak to determine how the person is feeling. It could potentially be used to help a business improve customer service.

Similar technology can also help people learn to recycle by allowing them to hold up a piece of trash in front of a camera. The system then tells them which bin to place the item in.

“This is only scratching the surface of what’s possible,” he said. “There is so much more that’s possible with these technologies. That is why I’m so passionate about it.”

A big part of what I aim to do is to make the world just a little better. If I can do that, then I think my time on this planet would have been well served. Nick Renotte

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Learning from failure

“I think failure is a stepping stone to success.”

Renotte attributes much of his success to the ability to learn from failure. Persistence, he says, is key to the field of technology — and he continues to carry that mentality with him across all of his creative endeavors.

“The truth is, persistence pays off,” he said. “Over time, if you keep doing it and putting yourself out there, you keep working, eventually things do happen. I think failure is a stepping stone to success.”

Technology, and AI in particular, is already changing the world, and Renotte is excited to be part of those efforts.

“I like to always be working or doing something, building something,” he said. “I am looking at different problems that are out there, and I’m thinking, ‘How can I creatively solve that problem using what we’ve got available?’ Technology is great. But you’ve got to do something with it. I think if we take technology and apply it to problems, then we’re going to go so much further.”

 Learn more about Nick Renotte and IBM’s other inspiring new creators here.

This post was created by Insider Studios with IBM.