Are you prepping for the Singularity in Localization?

What does “singularity” mean in the context of Artificial Intelligence?

A concept that has been getting a lot of attention as of late is the “singularity” but what does it really mean? The term refers to the hypothetical point in the future when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence and triggers exponential and uncontrollable growth in technological development. It implies a moment where AI systems become capable of performing tasks that were previously only achievable by humans and potentially lead to unforeseeable changes in various aspects of human civilization.

The concept traces its intellectual origins to John von Neumann, a renowned computer scientist. In the 1950s, von Neumann discussed the notion that the rapid and continuous advancements in technology would eventually lead to a significant and transformative event in human history, which he referred to as the "essential singularity in the history of the race."

Ray Kurzweil, the author of "The Singularity is Near," has an expectation that computers will successfully pass the Turing Test, becoming indistinguishable from humans, by the end of the current decade. According to his calculations, fifteen years after that milestone, true transcendence will occur, referring to the point where computation becomes integrated into our very being, leading to a staggering increase in our intelligence by a factor of a million.

While this “singularity” is a theoretical concept and has not been realized yet, many agree that the likelihood of it becoming a reality is becoming higher by the day.

The implications of the singularity in AI are subject to speculation and debate. Some experts argue that the singularity could result in significant advancements and improvements and envision that super-intelligent AI systems could accelerate innovation and problem-solving beyond human capacity.

However, there are also concerns and potential risks associated with the singularity. One concern is the possibility of AI systems becoming uncontrollable or having unintended consequences due to their superintelligence. Ensuring the ethical development and responsible use of AI becomes crucial as we approach the singularity.

How does the singularity translate to localization?

In the world of localization, we have our own singularity. Actually, we have 2: the language singularity and the cultural singularity:

The "Language" singularity refers to the hypothetical point in time when machines attain advanced linguistic capabilities equivalent to or surpass human language proficiency.

It primarily focuses on the linguistic capabilities of AI systems, aiming to achieve advanced language comprehension, generation, and usage. It involves enabling machines to understand and process natural language in various modalities (spoken, written, signed), surpassing human language proficiency. It emphasizes the potential transformation of human-machine communication and interaction, expanding the capabilities of AI systems in tasks involving language processing.

It pertains to the hypothetical state in which AI systems achieve linguistic abilities that rival or exceed human language proficiency. Language is considered a powerful tool that shapes people and cultures, influencing behavior and facilitating both cultural stability and innovation. Consequently, the pursuit of language singularity in AI involves enabling machines to comprehend, generate, and utilize language in sophisticated ways, potentially transforming communication and human-machine interaction.

The "Cultural" Singularity, on the other hand, pertains to the potential future scenario where AI systems exhibit cultural understanding and engagement comparable to that of humans. Achieving this would involve enabling machines to comprehend and interpret cultural nuances, fostering deeper interactions between AI systems and human cultures.

What will the impact of the singularity be on the translation industry?

I asked this question to Marco Trombetti, the CEO of Translated, when I visited Translated HQ in Rome, Italy, last week. I was comforted to find out that Marco believes that progress in Localization will be obtained by perfecting the cooperation between machines and humans. He assured me he recognizes and values the contribution of translators, paying them for both translated words and those processed by MT, resulting in a 25% increase in translator compensation. To enhance translation quality and efficiency, Translated focuses on eliminating unnecessary tasks from the translator's workflow by using AI-powered tools and adaptive neural machine translation (ModernMT). This approach creates a symbiotic relationship between human creativity and machine intelligence.

Trombetti emphasizes that machines will not replace humans in translation. Instead, AI serves as a valuable tool for professionals, enabling them to translate more content at a higher level. Translated places great importance on quality measurement and uses the Errors per Thousand (EPT) metric to assess the overall quality of MT suggestions. Through a review process involving top translators and a second professional, the EPT rate decreases from around 50 to 5, indicating significant improvements in translation accuracy.

As the average quality of MT output continues to improve, Translated expects an increase in demand for professional translations and machine translation. Clients are recognizing the benefits of making their content available in multiple languages, leading to a higher return on investment. Translated predicts a tenfold increase in requests for professional translations and at least a 100-fold increase in demand for machine translation. This estimation is based on the growing global demand for translation and the improving quality of machine translation, which allows for more content to be translated without exceeding budgets. This trend is expected to open up new global business opportunities in the future.

Impact and macro-economic Implications on Localization

The arrival of the singularity is likely to render traditional economic models ineffective as computers surpass human intelligence, performing tasks humans can do. Likely this will lead to increased productivity and subsequent price reductions in the language industry and many other industries.

It, therefore, is not easy to predict the exact impact of the singularity on the localization industry. The singularity is likely to eliminate some jobs and also create some positions that have yet to be invented.

Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind companies like Tesla and Twitter, recently expressed his views on the advent of artificial general intelligence, commonly referred to as the Singularity. He highlighted the difficulty in predicting the consequences that would follow AGI's emergence. Musk suggested that it could lead to an "age of abundance," but he also acknowledged the possibility that it could pose a threat to humanity. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, shares a similar perspective, acknowledging that Musk's concerns might hold merit.

Last month, he endorsed an open letter from the Center for AI Safety, a nonprofit organization. The letter emphasized the importance of addressing the risk of extinction posed by artificial intelligence and stated that it should be considered a global priority on par with other critical concerns such as pandemics and nuclear war. The letter aimed to raise awareness about the potential risks associated with AI and urged a proactive approach to mitigate those risks to safeguard humanity.

What are you doing to prepare for the singularity in localization?