There is a growing debate over whether translation is still a relevant profession in the modern AI world or not. While many think that artificial intelligence may fully replace the human translation, I believe that this job is still essential in the 21 century since AI does not have the ability to understand minor cultural details and contextual nuances that a human’s brain able to comprehend.
Two compelling arguments in favor of the opinion that translator’s work is still important in our century are that AI cannot adapt to the text and take accountability for its mistakes. Modern technology is not able to understand minor nuances that people describe and be reliable and accountable for its actions. For instance, a phrase that is considered humorous in the original language may sound offensive when translated literally into another language. Therefore, a professional translator can recognize the intended meaning of the phrase and adapt it to another language. Moreover, human translators can review their decisions, explain them, and take responsibility for the ultimate consequences. Consequently, AI can assist human translators, but cannot replace them completely due to its reliability and judgement.
Nevertheless, others believe that the translator’s job is not necessary in the modern world of AI due to its speed and cost-efficiency. While people still require a significant amount of time to process and translate everything into another language, and get salaries, artificial intelligence is capable of working at an incredibly high speed without getting paid. To illustrate, a translator needs time to comprehend the context and translate it whereas AI is capable of doing it faster without getting a salary. Consequently, it is not necessary for job employers to hire humans if AI can work at a higher speed without getting paid.
To summarize, both points are understandable. While thinking that AI may fully replace human’s work in the field of translation is relevant due to its speed and cost-efficiency, I believe that human translation cannot be completely replaced by modern technonology because of reliability and accuracy.