AI vs. Human Translators: Navigating the Complex World of Religious Texts and Cultural Sensitivity.

Abstract

This article explores the growing landscape of machine and AI-powered translation, explicitly focusing on religious text translation. The objective is to assess how AI-powered translation tools, such as ChatGPT and Google Translate, can replace human translation in handling complex religious content. The analysis considers word choice, word count, readability, and overall translation quality. This article uses qualitative and comparative data analysis to evaluate translations of seven English to Arabic religious texts by ChatGPT, Google Translate, and human translators. The texts were chosen randomly in different religious contexts, and a systematic coding framework was employed. Through Nvivo software, we examined word placement, vocabulary diversity, fluency, and accuracy. The analysis concludes that ChatGPT and Google Translate provide fairly accurate translations, yet the quality is questioned. Human translation consistently outperforms machine translations, maintaining depth, cultural relevance, and nuanced understanding. Word count analysis shows that machine translations are more concise and missing significant elements. While AI-powered translation tools have made significant advancements, they still need to be capable of entirely replacing human expertise, especially in handling complex and culturally rich texts. Human translators continue to excel in conveying complex ideas and preserving the richness of language and culture.