Artificial intelligence is transforming the translation industry, but the role of the translator remains indispensable

Artificial intelligence systems, which can analyze context, sentence structure and language usage characteristics instead of translating texts solely based on word equivalents, facilitate communication between different languages ​​and transform business processes in the translation industry.

Evaluating the effects of artificial intelligence on the translation profession to the AA correspondent, Ahmet Varol, Chairman of the Turkish Translators Association and the Federation of Translation Organizations, said that this technology facilitates translation processes rather than completely changing the profession.

Emphasizing that artificial intelligence and the translation profession are a whole, Varol said, "If a professional translator does not work in harmony with artificial intelligence, he cannot be successful. Even if he is successful, he can translate in two months what he can do in a day with artificial intelligence. This time, his productivity will weaken and he will not have a chance to compete. Then he cannot work as a translator either. Artificial intelligence is a must." he said.

Pointing out that artificial intelligence cannot assume responsibility in the translation process, Varol stated that professional responsibility will continue to belong to translators and therefore the human element will maintain its importance.

Stating that artificial intelligence does not reduce the business volume in the translation sector, but changes the price expectations of customers, Varol said, "Since translation is done in a short time, translation customers also say, 'You cannot make money like this in such a short time.' "With this in mind, there is an expectation of approximately a 75 percent discount on the price." he said.

Varol said that there is an imbalance in the market in official document translations and said, "A 20-line document that requires notarization only costs approximately 1700-2 thousand liras for the seal. If the translator asks for 100 liras in addition to this, it would be ridiculous. Therefore, while 1500 liras should normally be paid, some of our friends can even do this for 200 to 300 liras due to income concerns. Therefore, there is an imbalance in the market." he said.

Stating that repetitive texts in long documents, books and catalogs prolong the translation time, Varol stated that artificial intelligence saves significant time in translating such texts.

Varol emphasized that repetitive texts in long documents, books and catalogs can be translated in a shorter time thanks to artificial intelligence, but the resulting translation must be checked to determine whether the text has been understood correctly.

"We prepared a project for the problems in translation and submitted it to the Ministry of Justice."

Evaluating the differences between artificial intelligence and humans, Varol said:

"No matter how good a translation the artificial intelligence makes, it does not have predictability and responsibility. In other words, it only does literal translation. Word translation is not a translation anyway. Translators need to be a little more specialized. When the artificial intelligence checks the translation, it becomes a perfect translation and the responsibility is taken by the human, not the artificial intelligence. When there is no human element, translation has no meaning. In other words, humans are indispensable for translation. Therefore, our friends who study translation and interpreting should not worry at all. They can always do this profession. They can only do this job without the artificial intelligence." "If they cannot count, they will also disappear. They will work together with artificial intelligence as a new generation of friends, filling the gaps themselves."

Stating that they prepared a project as a federation and submitted it to the Ministry of Justice to solve the problems in translation, Varol stated that the lower limit of tariffs should be determined in order to eliminate price uncertainty.

"Artificial intelligence is a tool that increases our speed and quality"

Marmara University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Vice Dean Prof. Dr. Sevinç Arı said that, unlike traditional computer-aided translation software, two-way interaction can be established with artificial intelligence systems.

Stating that artificial intelligence is based on large language models and may be inadequate in transferring context and cultural elements, Arı pointed out that these systems have a high error rate.

Arı said, "Artificial intelligence only matches words and sentences; it cannot fully provide elements such as style, cultural dimension and the understanding capacity of the recipient audience. For this reason, the control of an expert translator is essential for official and qualified documents." he said.

Stating that translation is not a job that only those who know foreign languages ​​can do, Arı said, "Artificial intelligence is a tool that makes our work easier and increases our speed and quality. We try to convey to our students how they can adapt themselves to this technology instead of showing resistance to it. Someone who does not know the text tradition and theories cannot manage the artificial intelligence translation correctly. Therefore, there will always be a need for qualified and trained translators." he said.

Arı said that they keep the curriculum up-to-date and integrate artificial intelligence technologies into their education processes in order to train qualified translators at the university.

Pointing out that artificial intelligence-supported translation technologies have developed significantly in the last 5 years, Arı said, "While a translator can translate an average of 250 to 350 words per hour depending on his potential, we can now increase this to 1800 words with artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence has become a tool of ours, making our work easier. It has reduced prices but increased our work capacity." he said.