Facing Artificial Intelligence …
The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is threatening many freelance translators and small language service providers (LSPs). But worrying about declining prices is no solution. What is needed is a collective approach to protect small businesses and to use AI to secure their existence.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the buzzword you’ve probably heard enough of this year. General technological forecasting paints an ugly picture of an invaded labor space where man and machine coexist in an inharmonic fashion while businesses focus on hardware efficiency. At least, this is the regular journalistic conflation that is based on a phenomenon known as the “panic cycle”. Figure 1 depicts this cyclical reactionary trend that has been witnessed in the face of new technologies. This is not to say that concern and panic are unfounded. It is an economic fact that not all parties will benefit from new technological developments. In the U.S., factories have already been heavily impacted. This, along with indications of poor political economic management, has led to an increase in layoffs.Repetitive and rule-based labor roles are fast approaching their lowest point. This perception is so strong that some believe that Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania would have swung towards electing Hillary Clinton if automation adoption had been two percent less prevalent in these states between 2012 and 2016. All around the globe, we have witnessed ruthless politicians stoking fears to take advantage of existing anxieties. These economic concerns are even more present in the language services industry. In an industry, where all input and output depend on a dual relationship, AI can naturally have a far deeper impact.
