Humans at the heart of technology
On 13 June, the Société française des traducteurs (SFT), France’s union for professional translators and interpreters, published a statement on artificial intelligence based on the results of a survey of its members in November and December 2023. The SFT is voicing the concerns of the professions it represents that humans should remain at the heart of this technology and that, if they continue unchecked, generative AI solutions used for translation and interpreting could lead to the impoverishment of both language and of critical thinking, the very essence of communication – and of our humanity.
Translators and interpreters in France cite competition from generative artificial intelligence (GAI) as their main concern (based on two 2023 SFT surveys). In its statement, the SFT warns of GAI’s impact on the translation and interpreting professions and of deteriorating working conditions.
The SFT is warning translation clients, language service providers, and each and every person about the risks of using AI over professional translators and interpreters – facilitators who nurture the messages entrusted to them and weave human networks.
Given the pitfalls of AI, the SFT has issued a warning about how dangerous it can be. From a social, environmental or health standpoint, it is crucial that humans remain at the heart of the process.
The SFT is not opposed to integrating GAI into translation and interpreting as an aid to human expertise. However, it should not replace a professional under any circumstances and should always be used with the utmost caution.
The SFT has made four recommendations:
- It calls for the protection of human creativity and expertise and advocates against replacing language professionals with AI.
- It calls for greater transparency regarding where content comes from and how it is produced. This transparency must come as standard, and machine output must be clearly identified to distinguish it from human creation.
- It demands a fair share of the economic value created by language services and condemns the deterioration in pay and working conditions for highly qualified professionals, even as the global market continues to grow.
- It warns of the demise of the language professions and sounds the alarm among the educators and government authorities responsible for school and university curricula about how important training younger generations is.
Technology must remain a tool that serves translation and interpreting, centuries-old crafts that urgently need to be safeguarded to maintain dialogue and exchange between cultures.
The SFT Board