ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, MACHINE TRANSLATION & CYBORG TRANSLATORS: A CLASH OF UTOPIAN AND DYSTOPIAN VISIONS

Abstract

The link between artificial intelligence (AI) and translation, as well as the repercussions of this complex relationship have enjoyed increased attention in today’s post-human translation studies. This paper problematizes how AI, with a special focus on machine translation (MT) and its current trends in the wake of the technological turn, has transformed the concept of translation, and has ultimately resulted in the emergence of new translator roles and competences. We aim to cast a fresh conceptual light on how and why AI continues to challenge the translation industry, imply what benefits and threats it may bring for language professionals and offer a theoretical model of the new roles of the human translator. We claim that the translator’s positioning on the cline between a utopian and dystopian future is a function of factors influencing their changing roles. From a utopian perspective, we view technology as an aid to the human translator where the translator’s toolkit of competences is augmented by CAT tools, neural machine translation (NMT), post-editing and revision skills as well as experiential learning. In the dystopian interpretation of the translator’s job, AI completely takes over the role of translators and phases them out on the grounds of speed, precision and cost. Despite inspiring some outlandish visions, the article emphasizes the idea that although AI has been radically transforming the translation industry of the 2020s, it is still difficult to predict to what extent it is going to ultimately redeem or destroy translators.