3 Critical Sectors That Should Not Rely On AI Translation

In recent years, large language models (LLM) and neural machine translation (NMT) have become integral parts of many translation workflows. However, the widespread use of AI translation services without any human supervision does not guarantee high quality results and can even be dangerous, especially for the following three industries:

1. The Government Sector and AI Translation

Government work is often a high-stakes enterprise that requires great attention to detail as well as secrecy. Using AI translation tools or hiring unvetted linguists to translate classified documents ranging from operation manuals to top-secret military documents regarding national security issues is a risky proposition. To ensure high-quality translation results, government agencies need to find professional translation and localization services that only hire industry experts with deep knowledge of specialized terminologies (in addition to having the relevant security clearances to handle the materials that need to be translated). In contrast to AI, only professional government translation services can fully capture the nuances and tone of an original text into different languages. To quote a recent report from NewsWire, “entrusting defense sector translations to AI tools or unverified freelancers” can endanger important U.S. military efforts around the world.

2. Manga Culture and AI Translation

A recent startup company that uses AI tools to translate manga stated that only about 2% of manga released annually in Japan has been officially translated into English. The startup wants to increase the amount of exported manga tenfold using AI translation. While AI might offer time-saving benefits and be more cost-effective, the translation of literature requires human translators. Japanese is a high-context language. AI does not yet have the ability to recognize this critical fact and and could inaccurately convey the tone, voice, and nuance of the original text. The Japan Association of Translators (JAT) recently released a statement explaining that “AI translation not only risks hurting…the manga industry”; it is also “not in [Japan]’s best interest.”

3. The Healthcare Industry and AI

AI translation has also been used to translate medical documents, including clinical research papers, consent forms, and medical records. Considering the high degree of accuracy required for language services when providing medical care, proper healthcare translation requires professionals who have experience working with high-level medical documents. Recent research conducted by a group of physicians that examined LLMs and NMT concluded that “diverse multilingual training data [is] needed along with regulations” to “ensur[e] safe and equitable applications of machine translation in clinical practice.“ Clearly, at present, human translation is necessary for fields requiring a high degree of sensitivity and technical knowledge such as the healthcare and defense sectors.