The Future of Work for Translators: Adapting Skills in the Age of Automation

While AI and Generative AI continue to create disruptions across industries, it is no wonder that the conversation in the translation industry too has taken up pace. Worldwide the demand for translation services is expected to rise at a CAGR of 2.5% as per reported by factmr . But, a uniform chorus of voices echoes the common sentiment that “AI is going to and HAS replaced humans”.?

Earlier last month the Middlebury Institute surveyed 450 practitioners, educators, and students, to gauge the future of the $72.7 billion translation and interpretation industry. The brainstorming led to a common consensus:? All interpreters and translators should leverage AI and machines as partners and aides.

But is this new for the translation industry? Not quite! Machine translations have made their presence felt since the 1950s and human translators have still managed to survive and thrive!?

This doesn't mean that linguists and human translators can leave room for complacency to set in.?

Demystifying The Translation Matrix

What the translation industry needs today is a renewed perspective and a mindset rejig. In this article, we explore the history of translation (past) as it gives us insights and tries to decipher the future of work by breaking down the present reality where human translators and automation are at loggerheads.?

Let’s dissect the layers

• What is it that the translator has done right that they need to keep doing and?
• On what front do they need to upskill themselves to stay relevant and in-demand
• Can there be a mid-way where automation and human translation coexist

Existing Skills that Automation can’t Rob from Human Translators?

When it comes to best-certified translation services , they all follow a set of stringent quality guidelines to deliver value at scale. Human translators use their evaluation, analytical, proofreading, consulting, and linguistic skills to deliver quality final results.? Human translators are quick to understand cultural intricacies that are based on human intelligence and skillsets.??

Contextual understanding is where most machines fail though there have been elements of NLP used in LLMs that are just about getting there.?

Meeting Mid-Way: The Human Machine Loop?

A survey of UK professionals in 2017 revealed that 43% didn’t believe that tech could replace humans in translations. The stats might be quite different today but the fact remains that 7 years later we are still asking the same questions!

There is one area that AI has still not been able to conquer and it is the ingrained knowledge about contexts! Human translators can use AI translation solutions for redundant basic tasks to speed up work while they focus on critical translation areas where contextual understanding is important.?

Human experts can deliver value at speed using AI and ML processes while saving their expertise to understand contexts, and cultural nuances and to use human intelligence for translating content that doesn’t have a similar meaning in the language to which it is being translated.?

Human translators can monitor and track context, give feedback, and guide algorithms, to get the expected result which can ultimately improve the accuracy and relevance of the outputs.?

A human can validate the outputs of a machine and tackle content that has ambiguity, complexity, and cultural nuance with ease and address through consistent annotations, while preventing bias- which AI is notorious for. While machines can process vast amounts of data at high speeds, they often struggle with ambiguity, complexity, and nuance. Humans can help address these issues by providing accurate and consistent annotations, identifying edge cases, and preventing bias.

Upskilling: A Key Piece in The Language Translation Puzzle

Develop Research Skills That Speak “Expertise”

The interesting aspect of languages is that they evolve. Translation experts can work on their research skills to keep up with the changes in the language translation market. The subtleties, words, and Indigenous dialects used 100 years ago have almost lost prominence, language translators can use their expertise in these and refine them to cater to particular use cases like public health information. Research skills can contribute to continuous learning for translators as they gain a deeper knowledge of languages.

Learn the Next-Gen Languages!

The next generation of entrepreneurs and corporates will include GenZ, Gen Alpha, and Generation Beta! Linguists can stay updated with the slang, terminologies, and Acronyms used by this generation as these could be the possible future of languages!

Get Tech Savvy to Stay Ahead

Learn to use AI tools and leverage AI and automation for your benefit, so that you have added skills that can give you an edge to stay ahead of the competition. Develop competency in using Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools and voice recognition software.

Communicate and Network to Seize Opportunities

Networking skills can go a long way. Enterprises that have large content that needs translation usually want experts who they can depend on for translation. Your networking and communication skills can help you develop connections for a lifetime, helping you thrive.

LanguageNoBar’s Team of Translators: Ahead of the Curve

The Middletons survey has an interesting quote from futurist Graeme Codrington: “The real value and everyday use of AI is to be found in its potential to be not AI but IA—an Intelligent Assistant for us.”?

LanguageNoBar is a leading provider of translation services in India and has delivered top-notch translation quality for the past 16+ years. We are fully equipped to navigate the challenges of the future with our formidable team of upskilled translators. Our future-focused proactive approach involves, continuous improvement programs, training, and domain-specific knowledge upgradtion initiatives for our translators so that clients in the pharma, technical, medical, legal, and e-commerce fields can connect globally and communicate effectively.

If you are looking for certified translation and localization service provider:

visit: www.languagenobar.com | mail: [email protected]