When and how to use AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools and other online machine translation engines are useful for understanding the general content of a document or quickly translating a short piece of writing on a general topic intended for a limited audience. They often produce very good results for general or lightly specialized documents.

However, there are serious risks to using AI for documents that are sensitive or confidential in nature or that pertain to specialized fields requiring specific language and terminology. In those cases, it’s preferable to work with a professional translator.

AI translation can be good for personal use, to understand the general meaning of foreign-language texts, or to translate simple, non-confidential messages intended for a single person or a small group.

However, professional translation services are essential for any documents that:

• Contain personal or confidential information
• Will be published
• Are sensitive, complex, or specialized
• Could have physical, financial, or reputational consequences if mistranslated

Now that AI has been in use for a few years, experience clearly shows that human intervention is necessary in most cases.

The key question to ask in order to make the right decision is this:

The same is true for interpreting: While AI dubbing tools can be useful in casual situations, such as when travelling, they have not yet proven their worth in formal or high-stakes situations, such as a business meeting. Professional services are, once again, strongly advised.

Confidentiality and cybersecurity

Beyond quality, AI tools pose other risks that are no less significant.

The main risk is confidentiality. Keep in mind that all information fed into these systems is captured and reused in one way or another. Although it won’t re-emerge in its entirety, it can sometimes be easily recognizable. There has already been at least one case where a confidential contract translated using mass-market machine translation caused a breach of confidentiality serious enough to derail a major financial transaction.

As for cybersecurity, any confidential information entered into AI systems becomes vulnerable to cyberattacks. Their servers are often located outside Canada, so information security is also a concern. If your company handles personal information or other confidential data, it undoubtedly requires that such data be kept on servers located in Canada.

Using mass-market AI violates that rule.

Reasons to work with professional translators

OTTIAQ-certified translators, interpreters, and terminologists are familiar with the AI tools available on the market and how to use them wisely. Most importantly, they know how to verify AI output to produce an accurate translation that complies with the codes, terminology, and language of the field in question.

Professional language service providers:

• Invest in specialized translation tools that can be enhanced and “learn” as corrections are made
• Populate their databases with quality-controlled translations
• Create glossaries to ensure their translations are consistent and adapted to each client’s specific terminology
• Know how to advise their clients on the most appropriate process for each document and situation
• Engage their professional liability
• Comply with a code of ethics and best practices

Editing AI isn’t as efficient as it sounds

Professional translators are increasingly being asked to edit AI-translated texts. But this is not always to the client’s advantage.

Depending on the complexity of the topic, the quality of the writing, and the AI system used, editing the document can take much longer and ultimately cost more than hiring a professional translator in the first place. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

OTTIAQ issued an official position statement on AI in 2024. You can find it here.