[GALA Valencia 2024] Soapbox: Maciej Rączka (memoQ) & Levan Giunashvili

1) "Why Reach for Perfection if 'Meh' is Good Enough? Acceptable Mediocrity in MT and Broader Communication" - Maciej Rączka (memoQ)

We look at the dawn of AI-driven translations with awe and high hopes. Everyone is excited. Any localization professional will say that they reach for the highest quality possible. Few will admit that in some cases, mediocre MT is just fine. We accept low quality communication in many contexts, because it does the job. I believe that the industry will see a much clearer division into high and low quality segments and the customers, users and recipients of some will be just fine with poor, machine-translated websites, products and dialogues. I think that mixed language contents, half-baked translations and unclear communication will persist and accompany many industries. Corporate websites, online shopping, pop media are a few examples of where communication quality matters not as much as we say it should. In my view, we are witnessing a new 'lingua franca', a common pulp language. Machine Translation is the new Latin, which for many centuries persisted, in spite of imperfections, local flavoring and mixed use. I believe that MT will settle for 'meh' in more contexts than expected.

2) "You Need to Calm Down with Your AI Revolution" - Levan Giunashvili (Interlanguage)

Don't worry, we're not going to rain on the tech parade or be nostalgic about the good old days; no "technology bad, typewriter good" vibes here.

But we do want to offer a different perspective, one grounded in reality. High-level executives might sometimes be a tad bit detached from the practical realities on the ground. They may not always know - or want to know - what things look like at the bottom of the pecking order, where real people - linguists, for example - deal with whatever AI-generated gibberish you throw their way. Why should you care if it just saves you money?

Well, there are many reasons why you should care, and one of them is that money you think you're saving. While you might be excited to spend 30% less on your translations today, your overseas sales & marketing department will sing a sadder song tomorrow, and so will you.

Don't let a cloud of buzzwords cloud your mind. Let's discuss the promises of a better bottom line, streamlined processes, and translations served up at no less than lightning speed - and consider the potential costs of getting too carried away by the hype.

Host organization: Globalization and Localization Association