There’s been so much written about in the news recently about the developments of AI and its potential impact on life as we know it. Have you been reading about it, too?
Whilst this sort of technology may feel threatening to our livelihoods and the careers we have worked so hard to achieve, AI is here to stay, so perhaps a better, long-term approach is to embrace it and work with it. There are, after all, so many positives to AI that can be used in the translating and interpreting fields.
Fellow member of the Cambridge Network, Speechmatics, a leading speech recognition technology company, has recently launched pioneering real-time speech translation capabilities in 69 language pairs. This development is poised to be somewhat revolutionary in providing accessible communication for businesses and individuals worldwide, making it easier to break down language barriers and connect with people from different cultures and backgrounds.
Whilst such technology has existed for a while, what makes Speechmatic’s innovation very interesting is its real-time capabilities.
This might feel like a death knoll to the interpreting industry, but, at the moment, I think there is much to be excited about, rather than fearful of.
For interpreters, I truly believe that what will set you apart from the competition now is an ability to work with the technology and use it to work more efficiently.
Understanding the benefits of AI for the interpreting industry and how to use it to its maximum effect is more crucial now than ever before.
And there is nothing to truly fear, as whilst AI can certainly improve processes and speed up outputs, it cannot fully replace human interpreters, as interpreting involves more than language translation. Understanding the nuances of different cultures, interpreting non-verbal cues and adapting to unexpected situations are all aspects that AI is not capable of – yet.