Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a popular topic of conversation lately. From biotechnology to banking, many industries have found uses for it. The translation industry is no stranger to AI technology either, and many language service providers have started offering AI translation services. However, the question that is important to ask is: Is artificial intelligence translation right for your business? In this article, we will explore the uses of AI and some of its advantages and disadvantages.
Machine translation is the process of using artificial intelligence to translate data from one language to another, without the use of a human translator. Some benefits include: time, scalability and cost. It allows for processing a large amount of text and data in a shorter amount of time than a human translator could. This, in turn, could save time and money. It can also allow companies to translate content into multiple languages faster and provide greater accessibility in more languages for potential customers. If volume and time are primordial, and quality is not as important, this may be an option.
Despite the significant benefits that AI can bring, there are also downsides to consider. One of the biggest disadvantages of using AI to input texts is that it is not confidential. Confidentiality is of the utmost importance and when inputting text to an AI engine, the text is no longer private. For example, when using Google Translate, any text input is used to improve the engine. It will use this text to “learn” and incorporate into future inputs, which is not ideal for companies that value their privacy. When dealing with legal translations and financial translations, or any kind of proprietary information, this would not be suitable as it could put the company, clients or stakeholders at risk. Furthermore, it could violate any confidentiality agreements in place.
Another disadvantage is that AI is still not completely reliable, and it can vary immensely from language to language; some languages are better adapted than others. This can lead to texts that sound very literal and are not culturally cognizant. Ultimately, a human will still be needed to intervene in all machine translations to ensure the text is up to par.
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