Translators are facing some big problems. They’re just now coming the painful realisation that a quality level of “low-to-mid” is acceptable for a LOT of stuff that would previously only have the option for “excellent” and “not at all”.
If you were in the business of selling excellent translations to people who only want low-to-mid translations, you’re going to be out of a job.
historians
Lmao, this is pure cope
What a load of bullshit. I want to see AI deal with “unprecedented minor emergency no. 42069” while simultaneously serving drinks and reassuring someone that everything is alright, no need to panic and/or start a fight. Physical jobs will be the safest anyway.
Also, “historian”? What the fuck? AI is spectacularly bad at doing even passable science with any accuracy, and in a discipline so nuanced and inherently biased as history? No chance at doing anything remotely science-y. Maybe it can replace the writers of pop-history articles with its surface level rendition of established facts, but even those are supposed to be entertaining and not lifeless, boring slop. Then again, most historians are struggling to find a job anyway, so not much of a change here.
But yeah, most translaters are screwed. Turns out, large LANGUAGE models are pretty good at transforming languages. Sure, legally binding translations might need some human oversight and quality literature translations might hold out a bit as well, but largely, that is one job that I believe has been in steady decline and will continue so.
I think AI is very hidden miss and translating. It’s very much seems to depend on the language.
We had an instruction booklet that was originally written in Chinese translated into English by an AI (I hope it was by an AI because otherwise there is a very incompetent human doing it). It had phrases such as “don’t always tie down when not tightened loosely” and “insure at all times to always” and “warning can be hot when hot do not touch when hot or off and not on”
I read a translation of Crime and Punishment which I think was made by an AI. There were a lot of weird structured sentences. Besides, the translation kept missing the characters’ genders. Like, a female character was constantly mentioned by male pronouns and so on.
Maybe you think it’s not any good, and maybe all the humans who use it don’t think it’s any good, but Microsoft says it’s great, and they’re the ones who stand to lose all three money.
Thanks to AI, I waste less time declining “job” offers that basically pay $2 an hour since cheap clients like that are satisfied with AI.
Plenty of businesses and artists who value my experience as a translator/interpreter still pay me my asking rate.
“You are absolutely right, ma’am. I understand why my spilling your drink in your lap has caused you some distress, and I truly sympathize with your son’s concussion from the blunt impact caused by my reckless flailing to fix my previous mistake. Please listen to this advertisement while another attendant comes to assist you.”
By the way there is a seahorse emoji.
I feel like giving up.
