CAN AI SUPERSEDE HUMANS IN THE WORLD OF LANGUAGES?
Gulf News, February 22, 2020
You do not need to buy a French beginner’s guidebook to learn what “Je ne sais pas” means. The “I don’t know” in your mind will quickly turn to a “Je ne sais” by a simple click on Google Translate. Are you traveling to a foreign country? There is an earpiece that allows two people with different languages to understand each other.
All these translation tools are powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) that works by recognizing patterns in data then transforming input data in one language to the desired output in another. Undeniably, this invention has helped in facilitating communication despite language barriers, but the question still lies on whether it can supersede humans.
The straightforward answer, of course, is no.
Although AI can readily translate with accuracy simple phrases, it is still far from comprehending medical jargon, figures of speech, literary, and science. It does not regard the existence of dialects and cannot deal with the historical evolution of words.
As Langpros Founder Matteo Ippoliti puts it, “Translators and interpreters should have deep knowledge of the culture and the history of the people who speak a language. They should understand nuances, references, and other important elements of human communication that machines still cannot grasp.”
About The Author
Matteo Ippoliti is a qualified and Certified Translator of English, French and Italian, recognized by the Consulate General of Italy in Dubai and the Embassy of Italy in Abu Dhabi. He is a sworn Legal Translator licensed by the UAE Ministry of Justice and Italy Law Courts.
His great passion for traveling, foreign languages and cultural differences motivated him to study and work abroad in many countries such as Canada, Australia and the UAE.
Almost a decade ago he founded LANGPROS, a Dubai Translation and Interpreting Company working with over 100 languages and the only LSP in the UAE licensed by the UAE Ministry of Justice to provide ITALIAN, SPANISH, ENGLISH, ARABIC and FRENCH legal translations.