The latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is here to change our world forever. As AI technology invades various industries and functions, the world is becoming more interconnected. Gone are the days when language barriers existed between individuals and businesses. AI has not only changed the way translation occurs, it has also transformed the way translation companies work.

Owing to the advanced AI tools which boast of high functionality, speed, and accuracy, the field of translation is witnessing huge changes. Whether it is E-commerce language translation services, or video subtitles translation, these AI tools are taking communication and translation to another level.

But what exactly is the role of AI in the translation industry? And how is it shifting the role of human translators?

How does AI in translation work?

Artificial Intelligence in translation is mainly a translation method that uses complex machine-learning algorithms for translation. A translation by AI tools is executed with the aid of neural networks, algorithms, and natural language processing (NLP). These tools learn the meaning of the words and structure sentences in a way that they are grammatically and contextually accurate. 

It is true that companies have to deal with massive amounts of data on a daily basis. This is why a different strategy to managing content was the need of the hour. Thanks to neural machine translation (NMT), businesses can now get their data translated within seconds. And this deep learning technique is a common ingredient of today's AI in translation. NMT is based on artificially-built neural nets that translate entire sentences instead of single words. AI can learn from previous translations, and pick up phrase structures, as well as the intent depending on the text. Be it WordPress website translation service, or translation of complex technical manuals, companies can now achieve the high quality and accuracy they need within seconds. 

The Up-sides of AI in Translation

  • Speed and Efficiency: perhaps the biggest advantage of machine translation in comparison to human translation is the speed and efficiency by which lengthy and complex tasks are translated. Consequently, website localization companies and other industries choose machine translation for their urgent translation projects. 
  • Consistency: some AI software use advanced machine learning technology to translate files. This consistency is required for projects having complex content and words
  • Ease of use: AI software is an ideal alternative to human translation as it is easy-to-use. Perhaps this is why E-commerce language translation services rely on AI software to translate their content
  • Accuracy: another major advantage that AI tools lend is accuracy and clarity in translation. Although human translation is also accurate, the level of accuracy achieved through AI makes it an ideal choice for companies. Furthermore, this makes them a good choice for complex content for companies providing WordPress website translation services and other technical material

The Limitations of AI in Translation 

Although there are numerous advantages of AI tools in translation, there are certain limitations that must be considered. 

  • Inability to understand context: AI-powered machine translation is incapable of understanding the context of the translation material. AI may translate a website for a website localization company, but it cannot understand the context of the content on that website
  • Cannot account for cultural differences: Since AI stems from machine learning and training, the knowledge of cultures and nuances cannot be fed into it. This means that translation of content by AI will not account for cultural differences
  • Cannot execute creative translation: although human translation can sometimes lag behind in terms of accuracy, they lend a “creative” approach to translation—something that AI is incapable of. AI cannot give a “creative” touch to translation, nor can it suggest an “out-of-the-box” idea for translating a particular piece of content.

The Role of Human Translators in the world of AI

AI tools may be the new norm, but the role of human translators cannot be denied. It is unlikely that human translation will ever be replaced by AI tools, as the “creativity” and the “originality” of human translation is hard to achieve by machine translation. The role of human translators, therefore, may be limited by AI, but will not go out of existence. 

Future Trends of AI in Translation

As industry functions are rapidly being taken over by AI tools, the role of AI in translation is hard to ignore. Look at some of the future trends of AI that companies must consider:

  • Speech recognition: as the popularity of voice technology increases, businesses must invest in AI tools. This will give them real-time translation and interpretation of spoken language
  • Augmented reality localization: AI tools need to adapt to digital content which are a part of augmented reality. In the coming days, computer vision will be required to translate complex documents and content
  • Contextual translation: the present-day AI tools lack the capability to consider context in translation. But in the coming years, it is expected that sophisticated AI tools will consider context in translation.

Conclusion:

The new world of Artificial Intelligence is rapidly replacing the way companies carry out their business. And the translation industry is not an exception when it comes to the role of AI in execution of translation. Although AI has considerable benefits with regards to translation, it is unlikely that human translation will be completely replaced by AI in future years.