What are the pros and cons of AI for translation?

Have you lost opportunities to connect with other people and cultures because you didn't know their language?

Have you thought of using AI for translation to help you?

As AI tools are becoming more commonly used and accessible, you can consider AI to help you with translation. However, it's important to consider the benefits and challenges of using AI for translation so you can make the best decision! 🧠

AI advances in the last few years, especially on large language models (LLM), have provided more opportunities to access real-time and more accurate translation tools.

Watch the clip below showing two people using a real-time translation tool to converse in English and Spanish:

You can use AI translation tools to reach and communicate with wider audiences in areas such as:

E-commerce and business

• Target customers in different languages.

• Localize content for audiences in different countries and regions.

Education

• Create educational content for multilingual learners.

• Promote cross-cultural communication.

Tourism and travel

• Provide travellers with translation tools to help them communicate.

Entertainment

• Perform subtitling and dubbing for media content.

Speed

• AI translations can be generated very quickly.

• Large translation tasks are easier to complete.

Cost-effectiveness

• AI can do most of the translation work so humans focus on cultural and regional adaptations and post-editing tasks.

• There are AI translation tools with free plans you can try such as DeepL and QuillBot.

Multilingual capabilities

• AI is capable of working with different languages.

Integration

• AI tools can work with other technologies.

• Integrated analytics make translation tasks more efficient.

Meet Helena. She runs the newspaper for the students' association at her university. She wants to offer content in different languages to be more inclusive to multilingual students. Why should Helena consider using AI for translation?

A. Using an AI translation tool is cheap.

B. AI translation tools work with a great number of languages.

C. AI translations are always better than human translations.

D. Helena can quickly generate the translations and then verify and improve them with speakers of those languages.

Using AI for translation also comes with different limitations and concerns.

Some aspects to consider are:

Lack of cultural nuance

• The lack of cultural context can lead to inaccurate and even offensive translations.

Data privacy

• Using AI to translate confidential information raises potential security risks.

Limited performance

• Specific domains like technical fields are challenging for AI translation tools.

• This can result in the inaccurate translation of sensitive information.

Ethical implications

• Human translators have performed the tasks AI would take care of. Using machines over humans raises moral concerns.

• Bias and lack of data diversity in training AI models are common issues.

Helena is moving to Canada to study. She must translate her academic transcripts, certificates, and work samples into English for the application.

Helena is thinking of using a translation agency that uses an innovative AI translation tool instead of human translators to help her with that. What should Helena consider before choosing this option?

A. The privacy and protection of her data

B. Specialized translations can be challenging for AI tools

C. Consulting with a certified translator who is experienced in doing this work

D. All of the above

Time to a make decision!

Will you use AI for translation?