AI sued
Thread poster: Peter Motte
Peter Motte
Peter Motte  Identity Verified
Belgium
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Jun 25

An increasing number of artists is suing AI compagnies for copyright infringement: authors, graphical artists, singers, even actors take AI to court.
I wonder when translators and interpreters will start doing that. I think at the moment translation is the biggest victim of AI copying work and putting translators and interpreters out of business. Even worse: especially translators did it to themselves, because they have been filling translations databases since decades by now.


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Peter Motte
Peter Motte  Identity Verified
Belgium
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AI and translation video Jun 25

People really start to be scared about AI.
I've found this video by a small YT'er on translation and AI, and he concludes there is not future in translation and he doesn't want to advise people to search for a career as a translator.

https://youtu.be/Kw3dwBaSxvI?feature=shared


Gerard Barry
 
Stanislaw Czech, MCIL CL
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Moment for translators was long time ago Jun 26

IMHO - the current application of AI in translation is direct continuation of the MT, which has been developed for more than a decade now. We may try to sue, but I am very doubtful if it is going to help. I have a feeling that much more important is finding ones place in the new reality.

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IrinaN
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Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 11:19
French to English
. Jun 26

Peter Motte wrote:

An increasing number of artists is suing AI compagnies for copyright infringement: authors, graphical artists, singers, even actors take AI to court.
I wonder when translators and interpreters will start doing that. I think at the moment translation is the biggest victim of AI copying work and putting translators and interpreters out of business. Even worse: especially translators did it to themselves, because they have been filling translations databases since decades by now.


How do you go about proving that any particular bit of a text has been culled from a translation of yours?

It would have to be a long enough segment of text to infringe copyright. I mean, the song "Happy Birthday to you" is copyrighted, which is why you only ever hear people singing the last line in films: that's a short enough segment to not have to pay royalties.

And even if AI lifts an entire page of text from a translation of yours, it's going to be a tough job proving that only you would have translated it.

Listen to the song "He's so Fine" by the Chiffons, then "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison. Basically it's the same music, just different lyrics and slightly different arrangements. Yet it took ages in court to prove that George Harrison had infringed copyright laws.

You say yourself that we did it to ourselves. Own goals count as goals!

The artists suing AI happen to be famous, and like George Harrison, can afford lawyers. How many translators do you know who could afford that kind of lawyer for that kind of trial, apart from the guy who hit a million one year (and burned out in the process)?


Stanislaw Czech, MCIL CL
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David GAY
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Unfortunately Jun 26

Unfortunately not realistic not least because commercial translators don't own the copyright anymore. Only literary translators still do own the copyright. But what's going on? I'm afraid I don't get it. Lieven Malaise is so enthusiastic while you are so depressed although you're on the same market...

[Edited at 2024-06-26 18:52 GMT]


 
Expectations Jun 27

David GAY wrote:
. But what's going on? I'm afraid I don't get it. Lieven Malaise is so enthusiastic while you are so depressed although you're on the same market...

Some people don’t want to be cogs in a machine.

I don’t want to do MTPE. Which automatically puts me in a different market to those who do.

[Edited at 2024-06-27 07:00 GMT]


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Lieven Malaise
Lieven Malaise
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Same market Jun 27

Christopher Schröder wrote:
Which automatically puts me in a different market to those who do.

[Edited at 2024-06-27 07:00 GMT]


I've never changed markets. MTPE is just a service some of my existing and long-standing clients have begun to request. Despite that I'm still offered a good mix of MTPE and conventional translation. For next week, e.g., I've got planned two +10 k projects in conventional translation.

The main difference with others seems to be that while some believe machine translation is the enemy, I turned it into a friend which gives me more options than other translators who don't even consider using it or providing it as a service.

[Bijgewerkt op 2024-06-27 13:22 GMT]


Chris Says Bye
P.L.F. Persio
 
Clarification Jun 27

Lieven Malaise wrote:
I've never changed markets. MTPE is just a service some of my existing and long-standing clients have begun to request. Despite that I'm still offered a good mix of MTPE and conventional translation. For next week, e.g., I've got planned two +10 k projects in conventional translation.

The main difference with others seems to be that while some believe machine translation is the enemy, I turned it into a friend which gives me more options than other translators who don't even consider using it or providing it as a service.

[Bijgewerkt op 2024-06-27 13:22 GMT]


Yes, but I meant more the difference between technical and creative translation. MT isn’t good for the latter, hence separate markets.


Lieven Malaise
P.L.F. Persio
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Peter Motte
Peter Motte  Identity Verified
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Good enough? Jun 27

I doubt whether MT is even good enough for technical translations.
It looks that way, but I don't think it is.
It looks that way because lots of technical translations have lots of repetitions, but it can't handle the first occurences.
Creative translations have more first occurences.


Chris Says Bye
P.L.F. Persio
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
 
Lieven Malaise
Lieven Malaise
Belgium
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Technical translations Jun 28

Peter Motte wrote:
It looks that way because lots of technical translations have lots of repetitions,


Repetitions wouldn't make MT usable for technical translations. On the contrary : MT would translate them in different ways. For efficiently handling repetitions you need a CAT tool, which has got nothing to do with MT.

Apart from that MT is usable for technical translations in my experience. It's far from perfect, but it generally still speeds up the translation process.


P.L.F. Persio
Peter Motte
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Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:19
English to Italian
Non possible for translators... Jun 28

Once we get paid, the copyright is not ours anymore. AI is not infringing anything.

Peter Motte wrote:

An increasing number of artists is suing AI compagnies for copyright infringement: authors, graphical artists, singers, even actors take AI to court.
I wonder when translators and interpreters will start doing that.
I think at the moment translation is the biggest victim of AI copying work and putting translators and interpreters out of business. Even worse: especially translators did it to themselves, because they have been filling translations databases since decades by now.


Jennifer Levey
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James McVay
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Dealing with the consistency problem Jun 28

Peter Motte wrote:

I doubt whether MT is even good enough for technical translations.
It looks that way, but I don't think it is.
It looks that way because lots of technical translations have lots of repetitions, but it can't handle the first occurences.
Creative translations have more first occurences.


That's a good point. Generative AIs like ChatGPT and Claude do emphasize use of synonyms over consistency, and that can be a problem with translation of technical documentation. Maintaining consistency is moneyl a human problem, too, of course, and one that CAT tools go a long way toward solving.

The fact is that certain current AIs can function as valuable translation assistants, but they function best when used in conjunction with a CAT tool.


Gerard Barry
 
James McVay
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United States
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Russian to English
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Expect more MTPE Jun 28

Christopher Schröder wrote:

David GAY wrote:
. But what's going on? I'm afraid I don't get it. Lieven Malaise is so enthusiastic while you are so depressed although you're on the same market...

Some people don’t want to be cogs in a machine.

I don’t want to do MTPE. Which automatically puts me in a different market to those who do.

[Edited at 2024-06-27 07:00 GMT]


Like it or not, generative AI is going to move the translation industry toward greater use of MTPE. The plain fact is that some of the current crop of generative AIs stand head and shoulders above Google Translate and DeepL. They are nearly as good as human translators. and they will only get better. ISPs will inevitably see them as cash cows. AI will be used to push translators to produce more and accept lower rates.


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Peter Motte
Peter Motte  Identity Verified
Belgium
Local time: 11:19
Member (2009)
English to Dutch
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Evolution Jul 2

I agree that AI for translation is part of the evolution from CAT to MT.
As a matter of fact, as far as I know MT IS translation with AI.
Therefore I don't understand the current hype that's telling people AI would do away with translators.
However, telling people that it will put an end to translators, will entice some to invest in AI translation.
As I see it, it will cause extra money to flow to AI translation, with no big results, and causing some people to go bust.... See more
I agree that AI for translation is part of the evolution from CAT to MT.
As a matter of fact, as far as I know MT IS translation with AI.
Therefore I don't understand the current hype that's telling people AI would do away with translators.
However, telling people that it will put an end to translators, will entice some to invest in AI translation.
As I see it, it will cause extra money to flow to AI translation, with no big results, and causing some people to go bust.
However, all that invested money and those efforts will make AI translation stronger, and others will reap the benefits. E.g. by buying the assets of people who lost there money in it, therefore getting those efforts at a bargain.
It will also give new potential clients and managers the idea they can bypass translators. They might immediately choose for AI translation, without ever having tried normal translation.
Question is whether they will really reap some benefit from it.
There will be a gradual improvement, but how much?
I think the most important thing at the moment is that translators don't let themselves get intimidated by the idea they can be replaced by AI.
As a matter of fact: having lots of work at low pay, is still a low profit.
Collapse


 
Gerard Barry
Gerard Barry
Germany
Local time: 11:19
German to English
. Jul 2

Peter Motte wrote:

People really start to be scared about AI.
I've found this video by a small YT'er on translation and AI, and he concludes there is not future in translation and he doesn't want to advise people to search for a career as a translator.

https://youtu.be/Kw3dwBaSxvI?feature=shared


I work as an in-house translator in a company that hires a lot of interns (as cheap labour of course). Most of these interns are studying translation at university. I'm shocked that, at this time when machine translatoon is becoming more common, the universities are still offering degrees in translation. Do they care at all about their students' futures? I was chatting recently with one of the interns and advised her to consider other types of work but she didn't seem to take on board what I was saying, instead believing that if she specialises in some area, she might have a chance of succeeding.


Peter Motte
 


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