This article has been first published in Multilingual Magazine. For much of modern history, access to specialized knowledge has required one thing above all else: a professional. Whether it was legal advice, tax planning, language translation, or even medical consultation, the path to expertise ran through a narrow gate, guarded by individuals who possessed not…
Category: AI
Beyond the Hype. Policymakers need advice.
A few days ago I had the pleasure to give a keynote speech titled “Beyond the Hype: Navigating the Promise and Challenges of Technology in Interpreting” at Integrerings- og mangfoldsdirektoratet (IMDi) in Oslo, an institution fostering “equal opportunities, rights and obligations in a diverse society” in Norway. Language technologies have the potential to support institutions…
“Will AI replace interpreters” is the wrong question to ask
If it’s true that questions are nearly as important as answers, then our first paradigm shift in grasping the profound changes unfolding in the field of interpreting is to reframe the question itself. Instead of asking, Will AI replace interpreters? we should be asking, Can AI match human performance in interpreting? Only by reframing this…
10 random lessons I learned about AI (and humans)
Lesson 1: “Many tasks that humans solve using intelligence can be solved by machines without requiring human-like intelligence.” In my opinion, one of the most profound insights on AI was articulated years ago by philosopher Luciano Floridi. He asserted, in a strikingly simple way, that while humans may be special in many respects, the tasks…
Trends for 2025 in Technology and Interpreting
Predicting trends is never an exact science—it’s more of an art. Yet, I’m eager to take on the challenge. The good news? At the intersection of Interpreting and Technology I don’t anticipate any dramatic upheavals, apocalyptic scenarios, or seismic disruptions in the space. Change, after all, is a gradual process. Evolution unfolds over time; it…
The technological turn in interpreting and its short-term implications
The field of interpreting is currently undergoing what I described in 2018 as a “Technological Turn,” a term highlighting the transformative impact of recent technological advancements on the profession. Until that time, interpreting had experienced relatively limited technological influence compared to other language-related fields, such as written translation. However, emerging developments in remote interpreting, computer-assisted…
Rethinking Machine Translation: Understanding, Reformulating, and Translating
What if, instead of taking the direct route from one language to another, we applied the principles taught in translation schools to machine translation? Rather than translating words verbatim, we were trained to understand the meaning of a sentence, then reformulate that meaning — not the sentence itself — in the target language, taking into…
Simultaneous Speech Translation: from sentence to context-based approach
Progress is an incremental process—sometimes with big, dramatic leaps, and other times with painstakingly small, almost invisible steps. In speech translation, the ultimate goal is clear: creating a system capable of accurately translating across languages and cultures, capturing not just words but also their intended meaning, while seamlessly adapting to the communicative context. But let’s…
Data Privacy in AI Translation and Interpreting
Data privacy is a critical concern when using services, whether they are provided by humans or machines. There are many valid reasons for this: you may have confidential information that you do not want others to access, such as business strategies, financial data, or personal health details. Or you simply do not want others to…
Agency in AI interpreters
Many people hold a static view of what an AI interpreter is or will be: a tool that translates literally and blindly, no matter how unclear or garbled the original speech is—whether it’s mispronounced, unintelligible, or ambiguous. A mechanical device capable only of direct, word-for-word translations. In other words, a piece of software that will…