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Will AI Ever Replace Translators?

Here are two examples that can illustrate why AI will likely never master professional translations:

• Literary Translations. Did you know that many bestselling authors usually work with a single translator for a specific target language? That's because the translator already knows the author, the two have collaborated before, and they have already discussed at least one translated book. Literary translation isn't only about conveying the same meaning in a target language - it's also about style and tone, as well as the subtle message between the lines. All these details require a human mind to successfully pass a translation test.

• Idioms. While AI definitely knows the most famous and widely used idioms of a particular language, it probably won't be able to translate them all. After all, an idiom is an expression that cannot be deciphered by defining individual words. Therefore, translating individual words simply won't work. The result will be catastrophic. Let's examine a few Russian idioms and their translation into English provided by ChatGPT:
  
  • бежать, как от чумы - the correct English translation is "to avoid like the plague," which is almost a literal translation, except that the verb in Russian is "run away," not "avoid." Even with such a seemingly simple idiom, AI translated it as "to run away as if from the plague," which makes for an unnatural translation.
    
    
  • вертеться как белка в колесе - this is another interesting idiom for this discussion. It can be translated literally as "to spin like a squirrel in a wheel," which is also the version provided by AI. The thing is - this is not an idiomatic expression in English, and without a context or further explanations, readers or listeners won't understand its meaning. In Russian, this expression is used when referring to people who are always busy. It is believed that the idiom originates from a Russian fable called "Squirrel" by Ivan Krylov.

• положить зубы на полку - probably one of the best examples for this discussion. If translated literally (just as AI did), this idiom would sound like "to put one's teeth on the shelf." This idiom does not exist in English. One would probably associate it with "set someone's teeth on edge," but the meaning of this English idiom has nothing to do with the meaning of the Russian one. In Russian, this expression is used when people need to cut on essential expenses due to financial problems. The origin of this expression isn't fully confirmed yet. Some believe it refers to actual teeth - since there's no food, teeth become useless, so why keep them?!
  
  
• как сыр в масле кататься - what about this one, which is the antonym of the previous idiom? AI translates it literally - to roll like cheese in butter. It doesn't make much sense, does it?! It sounds more like a tasty recipe! In Russian, however, the expression is used when referring to a financially fulfilled life. When I told AI that this is not an idiomatic expression in English, it provided another option: "to have it easy," which, yet again, does not convey the meaning of the Russian idiom.

This being said, although AI still has much to learn about translations, it is not completely useless in this process. If one learns to use AI based on their needs, it can help speed up and facilitate translations.

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Will AI Ever Replace Translators?

In recent years, AI has been increasingly used for various automatization purposes. It is indeed an extremely useful tool in some situations, and many of us can benefit from it. But what concerns us today is the following: will AI ever replace translators?

Probably not.



Let's not forget that we've had Google Translate for ages. While it can be used to translate short sentences that can help us, let's say, communicate with locals in a foreign country, Google Translate will never replace a professional translator who can tackle various text subtleties.

You'll probably say that AI has evolved dramatically over the years, right?! Even Google Translate does its job much better now, right?! Well, the answer remains the same - machines will probably never replace human translators simply because translating texts implies much more than just having a language database. It is also about identifying nuances that only a knowledgeable human mind can identify.

And besides, there are more than 7,000 spoken and signed languages in the world, each with its own grammatical, semantical, and syntactical rules, as well as (and most importantly!) historical and cultural influences.

In addition, all these languages are constantly evolving - new words are acquired, and others are left behind. New rules are established, and others are regarded as obsolete. AI will likely never be able to keep up and translate complex texts at a professional level.

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