Will AI Language Translation Overcome its ‘Being Human’ Barrier?

With the rise of the machines slowly automating everything in its path, there is still the wonder of what we simple humans will be doing with our time in the not so distant future. We will have more leisure time and work less? Or will we all become supervisors of these technological advancements to ensure they stay efficient? Either way, there are still a lot of unknowns with where artificial intelligence (AI) will take us. 

In terms of communication, there have been huge strides over the last few years with where things could go, with AI language translation one area that has been heavily invested in. The machine translation market was valued at $550 million in 2019, with it expected to grow by 17% between now and 2026. With Google, Microsoft and Amazon all having their own platforms to provide this, and with them being integrated into social media and other applications for quick and convenient translations, will 2021 be the tipping point? That depends on how you look at it.

Speak Language like a Human

So far, AI language translation has not perfected the various intricacies that make up the way we converse with one another. We all know how complex the small details are when learning a language and the skillset required by human interpreters to understand and speak it fluently rather than just a basic understanding. A recent study by researchers in the US revealed how AI language translation is not anywhere near as rich and diverse as human translation, lacking the lexical diversity in favour of accurate translations. This is all well and good for translating a tweet or basic written text, but the researchers found that the AI language translation systems may not make grammatically correct choices.

The ‘being human’ aspect of languages and translation services ensures that nothing is lost and as little in terms of errors are made as possible. At Talking Heads, it’s why we work alongside a network of thousands of linguists around the world, covering many languages and local dialects to provide an accurate service. At this moment in time, AI language translation only covers a fraction of the world’s spoken languages, with Google Translate handling approximately 103 languages for example. With the world’s most widely spoken languages focused on, this leaves a vast number of languages unsupported by machine translation currently.

Human Translation is Still Leading the Way

Until further advancements are developed, there are still some hurdles AI language translation needs to overcome to be as close to human translation as possible. As an award-winning language service provider, we provide accurate interpreting and translation services for multiple business sectors, with over 20 years’ experience doing so and all through the human approach.

To find out more about our multilingual services, please get in touch with the Talking Heads team today.