A new role for translators and trainers: MT literacy consultants

Abstract

Recent developments in machine translation (MT) might have led some people to believe that soon professional translation will not be needed, but most translator trainers are aware of the high demand for the quality that MT systems cannot deliver without human intervention. It is thus important that professional translators, trainers and their students appreciate when and how MT can best be deployed, even if they do not use it much themselves. This can be accomplished by enhancing their MT literacy, which encompasses an understanding of the basics, risks and benefits of the technology. Trainers can prepare their students to provide advice to clients who might be interested in using MT for their multilingual content but do not have the expertise to judge when it would be enough to meet their needs. Drawing on the example of knowledge dissemination in higher education, this article presents survey results that suggest MT is being used far more widely than previously assumed. We highlight some of the risks associated with uninformed use of this technology, discuss how they can be mitigated by translation professionals with consulting competence, and outline some training scenarios which could contribute to developing societal AI literacy in general.