Human creativity is a wonderful thing. So wonderful, in fact, that we surround ourselves with it every day. From the insightful commentator we read in the paper to the witty podcast host who keeps us company on our morning commute. And it’s not just them – even the sides of cereal boxes, the copy on websites and tanoy voiceovers can provide a platform for the warmth and inventiveness of our fellow humans to shine through. All through the day, each and every day, we see flecks of ingenuity that remind us we are connected to a global community of other brilliant, wonderful and diverse people who understand us and can make us feel at ease.
So how do we feel now that we live in a world where an artificial intelligence is making incursions into some of these spaces? Automation and AI are of course fantastic inventions, and products of the sharpest human minds. They are speeding us up at the supermarkets, keeping us safe on the roads and liberating us from the monotony of routine tasks. All so that we can spend yet even more of our precious time connecting with each other through art, commerce and ideas.
But do we really want AI to replace those genuine, human voices that make up our everyday reality?
For many people, the answer is yes. In board rooms and office blocks across the globe, the argument is being made for the costs that can be cut and the productivity boosts that can be won. And yet many remain sceptical – suspicious of a world in which computers talk to other computers, and humans become like cogs in a wheel, writing prompts rather than poetry.
The truth is that these tools are not really intelligent in the human sense of the word. They are powered not by curiosity and creativity, but by prediction models that guess at what we want to hear. Rather than create from scratch, they recycle and regurgitate what humans before them have produced. What they do is re-creativity, not true creativity.
As all the debates around AI rage on, the translation and localisation industry finds itself on the front line. For a long time, there has been a general feeling that translators will be the first domino to fall. Their work is sometimes seen as mechanical and routine, something that the machines can easily do for us. For many, the time is now ripe to let the machines do the heavy lifting, with humans reduced to the role of mere reviewer instead. But reviewing is not creating. And translation is not routine. To us, this is a bit like asking the next Picasso or Frida Khalo to ruber-stamp computer illustrations, rather than to wield their own brush.
You see, the truth is that translators are just as creative and human as all the other voices that make up our world. They use common sense and an innate understanding for the original author to understand precisely what is meant in all its shades of nuance and subtext. They then set about completing a puzzle, slotting all the pieces of meaning into the framework of a new language – a language with different rules, rhythms, flows and feel. And they do so with warmth, humour, finesse and pizzazz. With a sense of care and compassion for the writer and the reader they help to connect. And a sense of professional pride in the role that they play.
To put it simply, translation is a creative and a human endeavour like any other, and while machine translation (MT) has its place, it can never replace the love and dedication that a living, breathing professional brings to the page.
FairLoc – Created by Humans with ❤
That is where FairLoc comes in.
FairLoc is born out of this struggle. It has been conceived in recognition of the fact that computers cannot replace humans, and in direct response to the frenzied embrace of all things automatic that has engulfed our industry in recent years. As professionals working within the localisation sector, we have seen how clients are too quick to embrace machine translation, and too unwilling to listen to our advice to the contrary. Even though they all inherently understand the value of human creativity, they have been gripped by the spirit of the moment which seems content to toss it overboard.
FairLoc’s ambition is to change all that. It aims to make a virtue of human translation once more. To help the industry realise that what was for many years the industry standard – indeed, the only way to guarantee a good translation – must reign supreme once more.
At the same time, FairLoc is not a commitment to never use MT or AI again. On the contrary, we recognise that technology lies at the heart of the localisation industry. But it is a tool to be wielded by humans, not a thinking mind in its own right that can take over the entire process. We believe that language is a human concept, creativity is a human ability and translation is a combination of both. So why would we hand that job over to a machine?
FairLoc’s mission may not be an easy one – it is never simple to go against the grain and call for reflexion in a time of great change and rapid development. But it is a necessary one, for if we sit back and do nothing, humans will be pushed out of our sector to the detriment of us all. Not just of the dedicated linguists who trained for years and work hard to do what they do, but of everyone who reads, uses and relies on their translations.
So for a better, fairer and more vibrant world not just for translators, but for us all, consider supporting us in our mission. Visit the FairLoc website today to learn more and get started.
And if you’re not yet convinced, that’s okay, too. You’re more than welcome to get in touch with us for a chat; we’d love to hear your views and see if we can bring you round to our way of thinking. After all, we’re only human, and we love a challenge!
But whatever your standpoint, I’m sure we can all agree that the world is a better place when we let the humans do the talking!
