Artificial intelligence: how do you embrace something that threatens to replace you?
Whether you personally work in the translation industry or make use of language services, the thought has surely crossed your mind: will we still need translators in the future? The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine translation (MT) has got us all thinking.
As with any major technological development, while there are some who immediately jump on the advancements and sing their praises without further ado, there are also others who are more hesitant to take the plunge and go all in too early – especially if they are worried that they are simply helping themselves be replaced. So how can we balance these two perspectives to gain as many benefits as possible from the developments taking place for both our clients and ourselves while also alleviating the concerns of those who may be impacted by those changes?
In our role as a language services provider, we think about this a lot. In fact, we even hosted an expert panel discussion on AI in the localisation industry this summer alongside the Women in Localization Switzerland Chapter. This topic is especially relevant for us because of our identity as the ARGUS Sprachmanufaktur, with our very name alluding to our focus on a high-quality, tailored and boutique style of work. Is it still possible to live up to our name and simultaneously embrace the new?
Absolutely.
We are the crossroads where many stakeholders meet and are therefore in a privileged position to help shape the debate and use our expertise to advise those around us. Our focus is on providing a personal, customised service, and this is actually a skill that is only going to become more relevant with the increasing shift towards MT. It means we are already well adapted to take on our new role as a consultant for our clients when it comes to using AI for their projects. Competently advising our clients on how to make best use of MT (and also when not to!) involves assessing a lot of competing factors and balancing these in order to achieve the best outcome, and every instance is different. It’s also about managing expectations, sharing our expertise and experience, and making sure we bring our translators along on the journey with us.
We feel that our role as a consultant not only applies to our clients but also to our linguists. Ultimately, even with MT, you still need – and, in all likelihood, will always need – a trained translator as part of the process in order to get the best result. In fact, you may even need them to have more skills than previously to make sure they are fully familiarised with the new challenges that MT poses. They are simultaneously the proofreader and the translator, they need to know what errors a machine may introduce that a human wouldn’t, and they need to be confident in their ability to know when to step in and make changes and when not to – something that may sound obvious but is, in fact, a notoriously fine line to walk. You also need linguists to be open and receptive to this type of work in order to achieve the best results. It is therefore key to make sure that we encourage translators to lean into post-editing machine translations and highlight how this new skill can prove just as rewarding as conventional translation so that we do not lose good linguists to the worry of being replaced. Human linguists will always be needed, but the skills required from us are being remoulded to fit in with modern day requirements and demands.
How can we help ensure that our linguists embrace these changes and are open to all the new opportunities available (and that they see them as such)? Here are our three tips to promoting a potentially contentious new service:
Treat people with honesty and understandig
Acknowledge that their concerns are real and valid. While we strongly believe, as mentioned above, that human linguists will continue to play a vital role in the language services industry even with the rise of AI, it is important not to dismiss the worry expressed by some linguists that the work they love is changing and not because they want it to. We listen when they express their concerns or decide they do not yet want to offer post-editing of machine translations in order to preserve their work using traditional translation. Forcing someone to see something as a positive when they don’t will not be beneficial to anyone. Instead, we reassure our linguists that we are also part of the process and give our expert opinion on whether texts are suited to post-editing, so they know that when they get this type of project, they will be able to produce their best work. We also encourage them to look into finding out more about the benefits MT can offer them and that it is more about a shift in the focus of their role rather than them simply being replaced. Reassurance often leads to them trusting us and allows us to encourage those who may be more hesitant to open their minds over time.
Reframe the conversation
We also take the opportunity to show them a different viewpoint, namely that post-editing is an exciting and skilled task for them to get their teeth into. It may provide different challenges to the ones they are used to with traditional translation jobs, but learning more about how machines translate and realising you may need to be even better at translating to be able to correct the work the machines produce and inject that much-needed creative human aspect helps reignite that fire and passion linguists have in them. For some, the issue is a question of head vs. heart: they know that this is the way the industry is going and that they need to incorporate it into their range of services, but it’s not the type of work that they got into the profession for and it doesn’t allow them to get their creative juices flowing to produce the best texts possible. Helping our linguists find that spark again with post-editing is what will really create a change in perspective and encourage them to not only embrace the changes but even actively seek them out. Showing that mastering these new challenges can be exciting because it involves learning new skills as well as applying and honing those already acquired means the changes in the industry can be met with interest and enthusiasm.
Realise that sometimes it’s proximity that makes the heart grow fonder
The unknown is often scarier than the known, and this is also the case with linguists offering post-editing services. It is easy to feel concerned about translation technology becoming better and better – especially when you are always asked about how worried you are about being replaced! – but the best way to deal with this is to train in the field so you know exactly what you are dealing with. You can then feel assured that you are developing your own skills alongside the development of this technology and can be part of the transformation. So instead of sticking solely with traditional translation, we encourage our linguists to take courses and gain practical experience with post-editing to improve and hone their expertise, learn new skills and have a wider comprehension of what this technology can and can’t do, and therefore find their place in the whole process. Becoming more acquainted with MT and post-editing helps them appreciate their value and realise that they are still very much needed – and even that they need to be even better at what they do to be able to offer this service instead of being replaced by it.
How do you feel about AI, MT and post-editing? What steps have you taken to make sure you can make best use of it? We would love to hear from you, so please feel free to leave us a comment on this post or reach out to us if you would like any more information on this topic!
