MTPE at Any Cost: This is Not the Way Forward

After 20+ years working in the language industry on most sides of the fence (translator, project manager, engineer, reviewer, tester, sales consultant and technology manager), I can say that I have taken care of a wide array of projects involving Machine Translation, which as you know has been getting a LOT of attention from client stakeholders, LSPs, freelance translators and end users.

MT feedback requests are rather common as these help improve the NMT engines. I will not discuss how this works as you can find plenty of good literature on this topic (check Section #5), but it is obvious that the goal of MT output evaluation is to fine tune and ultimately improve the quality of the raw linguistic output on a growing number of industry-specific texts.

While this is a valid approach (budget-wise, mostly) for many different types of texts, mainly featuring highly predictable structures, syntax and a rather straightforward use of expressions, jargon, MT proves to be ineffective in those fields requiring a deeper understanding of language nuances and read-between-the-lines subtext, crossed references and other language features that can hardly be codified. Again, you can find many posts discussing this topic.

To the point: When big players in the language industry try to sell MT at any cost to corporate users, this has a tremendous impact across the translation chain, ultimately damaging the quality of the working conditions of the lower side of the pyramid, namely the translators.

And when asked to collaborate on providing my 20-year expertise to improve an MT engine for media subtitling, I just closed my eyes and saw myself in 2030. And I did not like it, so I had to make a stand.

Make a statement.

So here it is. This is a literal transcription of the letter, where the name of the PM and the LSP have obviously been removed.

Am I spitting on the hand that feeds me? Perhaps, but I felt this had to be done.

And I very much look forward to your comments on this, whether you work as a freelancer, in an LSP or for an end buyer of translation services.

Oh, I nearly forgot: if you feel the same, the time is right to share these feelings to your MTPE requestor!

...........

Hi XXX,

?Thank you for your message.

While I regularly work on different kinds of projects for XYZ, based on my regular experience with MT engines on a wide array of different projects I believe that currently MTPE has little to no place in subtitling.

I am aware of XYZ’s ever growing attempts to use MT on different kinds of projects to help save money to their huge client base regardless of their deep pockets; however, I do believe that this approach is detrimental to the final quality of the product based on a number of MT and language-output evaluation metrics, not to mention that it heavily impacts the already low rates we translators are offered. I have worked on many MT evaluation projects in the past and am familiar with the type of implementation looked after.

In this specific case, I am afraid that my standard hourly rate could not begin to cover the level of knowledge and skills required to produce such detailed feedback, not to mention that, from an ethical perspective, this would strongly feel as selling my soul to the devil in exchange for some quick cash only to realize later on that my input has been used to extend the reach of MTPE where human translation skills should be required —much needed and deeply appreciated by discerning clients and users— still for years to come.

We have solid proof of this across many industry segments, particularly on media translation an the entertainment industry, where a red flag has been placed on this practice by end users, translators and many LSPs that realize this is not the way to move forward as an industry willing to deliver real value to our customers while keeping decent working conditions across the whole chain (and this obviously includes the staff at large LSPs with the only exception of the main stakeholders).

Having been a project manager myself for many years, I am aware that you have limited power over the above state of things. However, I would appreciate if you could forward my thoughts to your line manager and the MT implementation team, wishing that other fellow translators make a similar statement in order to help all of us work together and mutually benefit from more rewarding working conditions and rates.

Thank you for your time and understanding.

Truly yours,

Carlos la Orden Tovar / insideLOC - Professional Language Services