MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. While AI can offer easy translations with the press of a button, learning new languages is still valuable in today's day and age, opening the door to new cultures and even a whole new life for some, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at Sber’s AI Journey conference.

The head of state lamented that even now, "at school, you can press a button to answer any teacher's question and get an answer, immediately, without having to think." "And in the field of, say, foreign languages, try to convince a modern young person that he needs to learn a foreign language. And do you know what the answer will be? 'Why?' I asked Alice or German O. [Gref] in his chats - boom, they translate it online," Putin said.

In this situation, it is imperative to find the "right answer" and "to instill this position into the consciousness - in this case, of a young person," he said. "What is learning a foreign language? It's not just using it in everyday life or in work activities. It is necessary for a young person to understand that knowledge of a foreign language immerses one in a completely different world, allowing one to live another life," Putin said.

The Russian president, a connoisseur of German literature and fluent in German, noted: "It's one thing to read Heine in translation, even a very good one, and quite another to read him in the original. There are so many nuances, and a perfect translation is impossible because it is impossible to convey the subtleties of what the author is saying."

"When you know a language, you immerse yourself in its subtleties, and you begin to at least partially understand the soul of its native speakers, the soul of this culture," Putin said, adding that "this is an enormous humanitarian value.".