Will any language translation software match the convenience of knowing one yourself? Is it a future we want?

A friend of mine came back from S.Korea last year, and said that armed with only google translate, he was able to converse with pretty much everyone he wanted without any misunderstanding. He said he even went to a hospital and the doctor was able to talk to him about his condition through google translate.

Presumably google translate will evolve fairly shortly into a real time, ear bud version, with incredibly accurate human voices.

I imagine many people will regard this as revolutionary, breaking down barriers that have stood for millennia. However, I see it as dystopian. Like now, millions can only communicate with each other on 3 or 4 platforms [Google/Twitter/Facebook] with their own set on rules, in this future, entire conversations will be dependent on the interpretations of a few platforms.

Is a future that dismantles the language barrier through technology what we want in practical terms, or will it never be practical?