Where do we stand with AI-powered translation and interpreting?

Last year, a client I was meeting for the first time bluntly told me that I would soon be a thing of the past, replaced by artificial intelligence (AI), because Samsung had just released a smartphone with an interpreter and instant translation for 24 languages! (Needless to say, Samsung's demonstration videos are limited to very basic communication messages such as ‘How are you? How was your trip?’ and that my own experience of using Google Translate and Apple Translate to communicate with our Ukrainian refugees was often very silly). 

If, after all the hype about AI and the wonders it can do, you share this view and think that soon – if not now – you will be able to organise your international meetings without hiring professional interpreters, some clarification is in order.

It's been three days since the 39th AIIC Assembly. Three days in which I've tried to get back into a normal rhythm of life, because - yes – it’s on this occasion that I discover that one can also suffers from jet lag after following an event remotely. Last week, from Monday to Saturday, I lived the rhythm of Lima, Peru: two days for the annual meeting of AIIC's Private Market Sector (PriMS), followed by four days for the association's triennial General Assembly. Sitting in front of my ultra-wide screen, from 3pm until after midnight, I was able to follow the presentations and take part in the debates. I could also vote.

FEEDBACK ON THE INTEPRETBANK
AUTOMATIC AI TERM EXTRACTION
TO CREATE A GLOSSARY

After two-year break, I thought I would give InterpretBank (IB) another try because

a) the preparation for my next assignment involved a 130 page text document and
b) I was curious about the latest AI developments of the programme, which have been announced everywhere.

In our careers as interpreters, we are sometimes called upon to translate during company audits. At first, we're delighted. For a week or so, we'll be working as part of an organisation's team, helping them through this delicate period of evaluation. Audits require interpreters to do a lot of preparation beforehand, as they need to understand the organisation and its activities down to the last detail. Once on site, they must be flexible enough to adapt to the auditors' unforeseen requests and sensitive to the issues at stake.

Pourquoi le 20 novembre est-il un jour si particulier ?

Et bien tout d’abord parce que c’est la date à laquelle ont commencé les procès de Nuremberg qui se sont déroulés du 20 novembre 1945 au 14 avril 1949.

Finding the right expert to help you is never easy. We often have to rely on personal recommendations. The alternative is to have a reliable source in the form of a directory.
Because conference interpreters are experts in their field, working at this IEEE conference was particularly interesting. In some countries, interpreters and translators are on the same footing as judicial experts, while in others they are a separate category. However, the criteria for defining an expert (i.e. an interpreter and/or a translator) and identifying the one you need are similar. With the IEEE initiative, the European Directory of Judicial Experts is on its way. For interpreters, look no further than the directory of the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC).

If you want to hear how I performed at this conference, click here:

FindexII – Consensus conference – Les futures étapes - Bernhard Floter

17/07/2023

A short interview with Claire Godfrey on why it is worth being an AIIC member. The video is part of the series of interviews - AIIC Past & Present - I started in 2019. In 2023, AIIC celebrates its 70th anniversary, a perfect opportunity to ask colleagues why they joined the association in the first place and what has kept them involved long after retirement.

18/05/2023

CORE Siegel für Unternehmen

Am 01.05.2023 habe ich in einem 6-monatigen Prozess mit AIIC Deutschland das CORE-Siegel für geprüfte Nachhaltigkeit erhalten. Nach einer gründlichen Bestandsaufnahme in 3 Kernbereichen meiner beruflichen Praxis (Ökologie, Arbeitssituation und Gesundheit) habe ich einige Maßnahmen ergriffen und einiges verändert.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9QmYYtMNX0

20/03/2022

Parlementer, négocier, partager une découverte, tout cela doit pouvoir se faire de manière claire et précise. Rien n'empêche de le faire à l'échelle internationale. N'oublions toutefois pas l'aisance d'expression qu'offre la langue maternelle. C'est pour discuter du rôle de la langue maternelle que les collègues interprètes italiens de l'Association internationale des interprètes de conférence (AIIC) organisent un grand évènement au format hybride le 21 février 2022 (à Venise et en ligne).

20/03/2022

With the introduction of interpretation platforms to further organise international multilingual events in Corona times, many new tools are used to communicate before, during and after the conference. Here is an example: My interpreting team receives client's feedback via Miro.

10/02/2021

Organizing an online meeting or a webinar requires a virtual meeting place. When the event is organized by a third party, we have to join the group at the location chosen for us. Just like when we accept a physical invitation, we meet at the venue chosen by the person who has invited us. In both cases, physical or virtual, we find our way to the location and adjust to the setting.

Une réalité nouvelle de l’interprétation de conférence. Possible à condition que la technologie et l’encadrement technique soient au point. La formule „hub“ qui regroupe les interprètes en un même lieu permet de maintenir le travail en équipe, indispensable pour un bon résultat.

Le voci della giustizia

Milano 12-18 maggio 2017

"Thank you very much for your outstanding work during the conference „Responsibility of Religions for Peace“! We received very positive feedback from the participants as well as from our colleagues from the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs. By your work you have facilitated the excellent conversations and dialogues that we had."

Dr. Silke Lechner
Stellvertretende Leiterin des Arbeitsstabes Friedensverantwortung der Religionen

07/06/2017

Round Table with Sign Language Interpreters at the AIIC Germany Regional Meeting in Hamburg

05/11/2016

In the interest of narrowing the knowledge gap between sign and spoken language interpreters, Aude-Valérie Monfort, founder of the AIIC Sign Language Network, organised a roundtable discussion at the AIIC Germany Regional Meeting meeting in November 2016.

An example of best practice in composing and coordinating a mixed team of sign language interpreters, spoken language interpreters and speech-to-text-reporters.

The L'ADAPT conference which took place on 13 November 2014 at the European Parliament was an event so rare that it is worth mentioning: Two sign language interpreters (SLIs), two spoken language interpreters (sLIs) and two speech-to-text-reporters (STTRs) worked together in a team recruited and coordinated by Aude-Valérie Monfort.

Excellent presentation for interpreter trainers and trainee, shared by Danielle D'Hayer from the London Metropolitan University:

View Presentation

Maya de Wit, the first sign language conference interpreter to join AIIC replied to a few questions on her career and sign language interpreting in general.