Language barriers have long limited access to education, preventing millions of learners worldwide from advancing their careers and personal goals. Duke is proud to be part of a new step toward breaking down those barriers: piloting AI dubbing in two of our Coursera Specializations.

Through a new Coursera initiative, select courses are now available with AI-generated dubbing in Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese, and German. This innovation builds on Coursera’s successful AI-powered text translation rollout in 2023, which already enabled nearly 3 million learners to take courses in their preferred language. Now, with AI dubbing, learners can experience video lectures that capture the instructor’s original voice and speech patterns while syncing naturally to lip movements, making the content feel more seamless and authentic.

Duke is among the early partners piloting this technology, with two Specializations now available in multiple dubbed languages:

• Java Programming and Software Engineering Fundamentals
• Decentralized Finance (DeFi): The Future of Finance

Quentin Ruiz-Esparza, Director of Digital Product Strategy and Design at Duke Learning Innovation & Lifetime Education, explains the significance: “Coursera and Duke are using AI to increase what access and accessibility in education look like globally. Now more learners can watch videos both with subtitles or in their native language, and they can toggle back and forth between languages as they like.”

The broader impact of this innovation is substantial. Coursera data shows that learners complete translated courses at higher rates and over 90% of learners positively receive these AI-enabled translations. With over 40% of Coursera learners being non-native English speakers, AI dubbing offers a scalable way to close the gap and bring high-quality learning experiences to millions more.

This pilot underscores Online Duke’s commitment to ensuring that anyone, anywhere can access world-class education. As Coursera expands AI dubbing across its catalog, we look forward to continuing to innovate alongside them, and to making more Duke courses available to learners worldwide, in the languages they know best.

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Generative AI transparency statement: This story was originally drafted using ChatGPT 5 and then revised and edited by Blythe Tyrone.