| Pages in topic: [1 2 3 4] > | Poll: Where do you think the future of translators lies? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Where do you think the future of translators lies?".
This poll was originally submitted by Rita Utt. View the poll results »
| | | | | I don't know! | Nov 3, 2019 |
First of all, I’m not good at predicting things. Then, if 40 years ago when I started translating someone would speak of computers, internet, computer-assisted translation and machine translation I know that I’d say: “Are you out of your mind? You must be mad!”. I just hope that the translators of the future won’t be robot-like…
| | | | Ana Vozone 
Local time: 18:00
Member (2010)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| More frequent upgrading of equipment/software, | Nov 3, 2019 |
... being able to respond to ever increasing demands from clients, such as using their platforms, software. Also, tighter deadlines.
I think the keyword to surviving in this industry will be "Adapt", going with the flow, and treasuring those clients that work in the "old-fashioned way", with decent deadlines, fair pay, and a direct/personal polite interaction with you.
| | | | DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
First, the market will be regulated appropriately, prioritizing specialist in some fields with foreign language skills over "pure" translators.
Second, in time, people will use telepathy-like means of communication to exchange the ideas (pictures), making 'languages' obsolete and leaving them as a mere 'pussy wants a corner'.
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Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 15:00
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Long-term vs. Medium-term | Nov 3, 2019 |
The future of the generation of translators who have been in the market for 20 years or more will likely not change until we die. Machine translation and CATs have caused both positive and negative effects, but so far are not sufficient to affect the Class-A market.
Regarding the other generations, there will be trouble. People entering a translation course in college after 2015 have certainly not studied market trends before making that decision. MTs and TMs will never replace translator... See more The future of the generation of translators who have been in the market for 20 years or more will likely not change until we die. Machine translation and CATs have caused both positive and negative effects, but so far are not sufficient to affect the Class-A market.
Regarding the other generations, there will be trouble. People entering a translation course in college after 2015 have certainly not studied market trends before making that decision. MTs and TMs will never replace translators for clients who want quality, for literature and subtitling, for formal documents that require accuracy, etc. But the volume of work and the number of well-succeeded professionals will be smaller and smaller each day. It's not a smart career investment anymore. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Paul Dixon
Brazil
Local time: 15:00
Portuguese to English
+ ...
In memoriam
The future of translators is very bleak indeed, as technology takes over. Something must be done to stop the advancement of technology, so human translators are not left without a job. Things are very, very bad indeed.
| | | | Joe Ly Sien
Indonesia
Local time: 01:00
Member (2016)
English to Indonesian
+ ...
| Real industry need real professional translator, not real machine | Nov 4, 2019 |
We shouldn't worry about the machine translation since we're working for real industry, and real industry need real professional translators, not real machine. But we should worry about the ones that never worked as machine translation post editor who think that translator can be replaced by machine. GT and other machine translators are not intended to replace human translator, they are just assistant tools. Sorry, but sometimes I don't really like poll like this because it didn't represent all ... See more We shouldn't worry about the machine translation since we're working for real industry, and real industry need real professional translators, not real machine. But we should worry about the ones that never worked as machine translation post editor who think that translator can be replaced by machine. GT and other machine translators are not intended to replace human translator, they are just assistant tools. Sorry, but sometimes I don't really like poll like this because it didn't represent all of us and sometimes can mislead others.
[Diedit pada 2019-11-04 06:48 GMT]
[Diedit pada 2019-11-04 06:55 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:00
Member (2008)
Italian to English
The future is whatever we make it. The decision is ours, as human beings.
For the moment, that means allowing the powerful people who control the world to have their way, and to make that decision for us.
Until we decide to stop them.
They have decided that people are too expensive, so they have decided to make human beings unnecessary by trying to replicate our brain functions.
So far as translation is concerned, they have decided that it'... See more The future is whatever we make it. The decision is ours, as human beings.
For the moment, that means allowing the powerful people who control the world to have their way, and to make that decision for us.
Until we decide to stop them.
They have decided that people are too expensive, so they have decided to make human beings unnecessary by trying to replicate our brain functions.
So far as translation is concerned, they have decided that it's all going to be done by artificial intelligence.
That is not because AI can do translation better but because AI can do it more cheaply, i.e without the need for humans.
That's where they are taking us.
The only question is: what are we going to do about it?
[Edited at 2019-11-04 08:46 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Muriel Vasconcellos (X)
United States
Local time: 10:00
Spanish to English
+ ...
As a general trend, there seems to be a growing lack understanding of the difference between good and bad translation. Consumers are paying less and settling for less. As rates go down, fewer freelancers will be able to devote full time to translation because they will need to supplement their income through other pursuits.
| | | | mroed
Local time: 19:00
Italian to German
+ ...
| Just like pretzels | Nov 4, 2019 |
I think the translation industry will be similar to the bakery industry. When the prefabricated cheap goods came up in the discount stores, many bakeries had to close. Gradually, however, the trend towards higher quality is gaining ground again and there are more bakeries offering handcrafted baked goods - at a high price.
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Tom in London wrote:
The future is whatever we make it. The decision is ours, as human beings.
For the moment, that means allowing the powerful people who control the world to have their way, and to make that decision for us.
Until we decide to stop them.
They have decided that people are too expensive, so they have decided to make human beings unnecessary by trying to replicate our brain functions.
So far as translation is concerned, they have decided that it's all going to be done by artificial intelligence.
That is not because AI can do translation better but because AI can do it more cheaply, i.e without the need for humans.
That's where they are taking us.
The only question is: what are we going to do about it?
[Edited at 2019-11-04 08:46 GMT]
If (!) this is true, who are these powerful people?
Any human being with healthy human mind and healthy human soul would not want to live in a world like that, even if he/she is among the most powerful people.
[Edited at 2019-11-04 11:06 GMT]
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:00
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Katalin Szilárd wrote:
... who are these powerful people?
Bankers, industrialists, Bill Gates, etc.
People like this https://tinyurl.com/yybvew7l
The kind of people who take the really big decisions. Such as deciding that the Berlin Wall was going to come down, and how that was going to be achieved.
I met one of them once: Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza https://tinyurl.com/yyzsxnd2 some time around 1987, at his home Villa Favorita in Lugano, to discuss his art collection and how to house it in a new building.
At some point the conversation turned to politics and East Germany, and "the Wall". He said it was going to come down. I got the distinct impression that he knew more than he was saying.
Some call them the Bilderberg Group. This is not conspiracy theory. They do exist, they do meet, and they do decide what's going to happen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg_Meeting
This forum is about the future, and they know what it is going to be.
[Edited at 2019-11-04 11:26 GMT]
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Tom in London wrote:
Katalin Szilárd wrote:
... who are these powerful people?
Bankers, industrialists, Bill Gates, etc.
People like this https://tinyurl.com/yybvew7l
The kind of people who take the really big decisions. Such as deciding that the Berlin Wall was going to come down, and how that was going to be achieved.
I met one of them once: Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza https://tinyurl.com/yyzsxnd2 some time around 1987, at his home Villa Favorita in Lugano, to discuss his art collection and how to house it in a new building.
At some point the conversation turned to politics and East Germany, and "the Wall". He said it was going to come down. I got the distinct impression that he knew more than he was saying.
Some call them the Bilderberg Group. This is not conspiracy theory. They do exist, they do meet, and they do decide what's going to happen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg_Meeting
This forum is about the future, and they know what it is going to be.
[Edited at 2019-11-04 11:26 GMT]
I'm not saying what you are saying cannot be true, but how do you know that somebody/group of people is/are not manipulating you to have such thoughts?
| | | | | Repetition of myself | Nov 4, 2019 |
I still think that any human being with healthy human mind and healthy human soul would not want to live in a world like that, even if he/she is among the most powerful people.
You wrote:
"They have decided that people are too expensive, so they have decided to make human beings unnecessary by trying to replicate our brain functions.
So far as translation is concerned, they have decided that it's all going to be done by artificial intelligence.
... See more I still think that any human being with healthy human mind and healthy human soul would not want to live in a world like that, even if he/she is among the most powerful people.
You wrote:
"They have decided that people are too expensive, so they have decided to make human beings unnecessary by trying to replicate our brain functions.
So far as translation is concerned, they have decided that it's all going to be done by artificial intelligence.
That is not because AI can do translation better but because AI can do it more cheaply, i.e without the need for humans. "
I doubt that everybody within that group would be so insane. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:00
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Katalin Szilárd wrote:
I doubt that everybody within that group would be so insane.
They're insane enough to start wars....because wars make them richer.
Getting back to IT and translation: this isn't just happening by chance. Over time, decisions are taken about the kind of world we are going to live in.
In the 18th century, rich powerful people decided that machines were going to take over from manual work. There was some resistance, by workers who could see what was going to happen (the Luddites) but they were defeated (some of them were killed). That decision by the powerful led to the Industrial Revolution.
The decision has been taken that the future will be a future of information technology, robotisation, the end of work, etc. (something that is now widely discussed as what is really going to happen).
They know millions of people will no longer be required. That includes translators.
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