The AI Edition

Greetings, fellow humans! Yes, that’s right, this is a real human writing to you! 😊

I decided to call this post “The AI Edition” because I’m often asked about my stance on the use of artificial intelligence in translation work: Do I use it? Am I worried about my job? Will we have a chip planted in our brain one day, allowing us to speak any language we want? (Okay, maybe that last one is a little too apocalyptic.)

When or how to use AI is an important topic to discuss. My short and sweet answer is: I believe AI is a great tool for low-stakes needs with quick turnaround times. For example, perhaps you need to know the general idea of an email from an overseas client in a language other than your own, and you have to respond right away. Running the text through a tool like Google Translate or ChatGPT would be useful and quick.

I do not, however, recommend AI for most translation projects that need to resonate with a particular audience and require subject expertise. For example, a nonprofit institution will write up their annual report and include “calls to action” for their target audience to get more involved. This type of communication must connect deeply with the reader and uses specific vocabulary for the context. A few awkward words or phrases would have negative results. The type of work I do can’t rely on what is called “machine translation” or “generative AI translation.” If that’s enough of an answer for you, feel free to stop reading and go have that fancy coffee!

If you want to read on, I recommend three articles on this subject. The first article is understandably subjective: a “Statement on Artificial Intelligence” from the American Translators Association. The second article from PCMag is more objective and shows survey results from people who ranked different translation tools for their native language: “Google Translate vs. ChatGPT: Which One Is the Best Language Translator?”

The third article is a statement about the use of a “translation station” in public schools. This is a worrisome topic for those of us who provide translation in education because many items we translate for schools (IEPs, board meeting minutes, etc.) should be treated as legal documents. These are high-stakes documents for children and their families that deserve the time, care, and subject expertise a human translator can provide.

Share your thoughts with me in the comments. When do you like to use AI? When do you avoid it?