SPECIFIC and TAILOR-MADE to Your Given Context

Is there any role that #human #intelligence can still play in translation in the age of artificial intelligence?

An order from a long-standing private client gave me a chance to ponder this challenging question.

My mission was to translate a “Trauerbrief” or letter of condolence. The family asked to meet with me beforehand – for a fee – to share their thoughts and anecdotes of the deceased.

Since I was a regular translator for the loved one, I knew the background and was in a position to offer suggestions. The client was very concerned about unknowingly violating cultural codes with inappropriate wording.

Q “You wouldn’t say that in Japanese, would you?” was a question that cropped up over and over again during our conversation.

A.  Where there was potential for misunderstanding, I did step in and suggest certain modifications. But more often than not, my response was “it’s OK if you really want to say that”.

If the family mean it and their sense of mourning is genuine, why not. I have the right set of skills to put it in writing and get their messages across.

In the end, the client and I formulated the letter together. The client also received a back-translation in German for their comprehension to put the finishing touches to the translation.

I know that AI is getting better all the time. The accuracy will inevitably be enhanced by properly focused AI-teaching models. Yet, the output of generative AI still remains collective intelligence.

🔑 By contrast, the output of human intelligence (human translation) is SPECIFIC and TAILOR-MADE exclusively to your given context.

Anything that deals with human feelings and emotions will continue to be the realm where humans turn to or should turn to human intelligence.

#translation #tailormade to client needs