How will the broad use of AI language tools impact our jobs as translators within the next 10 years? Thread poster: Pristine
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Pristine
Local time: 07:45
English to German
It seems that just about anyone talks about AI tools lately. One AI tool after the other is introduced to the market.
Schools are afraid that students are cheating and use AI generated material instead of their own work. Many bloggers and other writers fear to be out of a job soon.
As we are of course writers too, what are your thoughts about AI and its development?
Do you think that our clients will trust AI tools?
| | | | | And again ... | Mar 6, 2023 |
Pristine wrote:
It seems that just about anyone talks about AI tools lately. One AI tool after the other is introduced to the market.
Schools are afraid that students are cheating and use AI generated material instead of their own work. Many bloggers and other writers fear to be out of a job soon.
As we are of course writers too, what are your thoughts about AI and its development?
Do you think that our clients will trust AI tools?
Please, please, PLEASE check the forums for other discussions that have already taken place before you ask the same question that has already been asked ten times or more over the last six months. You will find thousands of words expressing dozens of different opinions.
So much so that some of us who regularly participate in these forums are sick to the back teeth of the same questions coming around again and again.
Thank you.
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 15:45
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Nobody forces you... | Mar 6, 2023 |
...to click on a link to a thread that is obviously about AI. (-:
Pristine wrote:
How will the broad use of AI language tools impact our jobs as translators within the next 10 years?
It is a great opportunity for good translators to get good work.
It will make it harder for new translators to become good translators.
It will turn mediocre translators into poor translators.
Do you think that our clients will trust AI tools?
Yes.
[Edited at 2023-03-06 07:18 GMT]
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 15:45
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
No one can predict the future, but the probably inevitable further introduction of machine translation in our work doesn't have to be a negative story, imo. For example, I think there is a good chance that the race to the bottom of cheap translation agencies demanding MTPE work at ridiculous rates will become an opportunity (if it already isn't) for translators with higher rates, but delivering real quality. Machine translation can be surprisingly good, but it isn't so good that it offers a good... See more No one can predict the future, but the probably inevitable further introduction of machine translation in our work doesn't have to be a negative story, imo. For example, I think there is a good chance that the race to the bottom of cheap translation agencies demanding MTPE work at ridiculous rates will become an opportunity (if it already isn't) for translators with higher rates, but delivering real quality. Machine translation can be surprisingly good, but it isn't so good that it offers a good living for translators editing it at extremely low rates. If they want to earn enough money, they are forced to deliver low quality. If they do deliver quality, they won't earn enough money and eventually disappear.
More generally spoken I believe AI is being hyped a bit these days. I expect that virtually everybody will start to use it in some form, but that it soon will become clear that there are still a lot of quality issues to resolve.
Finally you shouldn't accept everything that is AI related. I have one client (luckily a very minor one) who announced they will be using 'dynamic pricing' in the future, meaning that the pricing will be partially AI based. This would also mean that it will no longer be crystal clear to translators on what the suggested pricing will be based. You would just have to 'believe' the AI. To me that's ridiculous and many bridges too far. I would never accept it. ▲ Collapse
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| It will destroy our industry and incomes | Mar 6, 2023 |
The EU is the largest employer of translation services and the large majority of its translation jobs (about 95%, I estimate) is already handled by machine translations (which are a form of AI), coupled with post-editing instead of translation from scratch.
Meanwhile, post-editing machine translations does not generate any time savings in the case of EU translations (if done properly, maintaining acceptable quality, due to the intense amount of research required), but still post-edi... See more The EU is the largest employer of translation services and the large majority of its translation jobs (about 95%, I estimate) is already handled by machine translations (which are a form of AI), coupled with post-editing instead of translation from scratch.
Meanwhile, post-editing machine translations does not generate any time savings in the case of EU translations (if done properly, maintaining acceptable quality, due to the intense amount of research required), but still post-editors are required to accept 30% discounts on their rates.
This leads to hasty translations, sub-optimal quality and lower income rates for translators, while traditional translators are slowly being substituted by new people who are content with lower rates. Unless we can change that trend, I believe that in a few years time our incomes as translators will be down to about 50% of what it was a few years ago.
The industry in general is following the same trend.
In view of this, I believe people who work as translators should widen their work, income and career options as much as possible. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 16:45
Member
English to Turkish
Samuel Murray wrote:
It will make it harder for new translators to become good translators.
It will turn mediocre translators into poor translators.
I think MT produces a lot better output these days than a mediocre human translator. So the effect would be the opposite of what you're suggesting, and that's where the real danger lies.
This means that those with absolutely zero translation experience, who haven't read a single book or newspaper in their target language in the last 5 years, but binged-watched all the Hollywood crap they could get their hands on on Netflix, entering into the business in their droves thanks to the valuable tips and advice given by the do-gooders on Proz forums can actually become 'okay' translators with the help of MT and thereby further saturate the already saturated translation market in certain language pairs.
So the danger is not actually in AI, MT making human translators redundant, but in turning those mediocre ones into passable ones. It's a frightening prospect, if you ask me.
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Philip Lees wrote:
some of us who regularly participate in these forums are sick to the back teeth of the same questions coming around again and again.
It’s such a shame that after waiting all these years for something new to talk about, two threads and we’re done.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 15:45
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Baran Keki wrote:
So the danger is not actually in AI, MT making human translators redundant, but in turning those mediocre ones into passable ones. It's a frightening prospect, if you ask me.
I've already edited poor MTPE work done by mediocre translators. So there's that.
In my opinion the current situation is as follows: you need to be an above average translator to be able to deliver quality MTPE work with a discount without losing money.
[Edited at 2023-03-06 09:36 GMT]
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| Damn .......... | Mar 6, 2023 |
...... can't find my crystal ball!
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