How often have you been told this year that AI was going to replace you as a Language Professional, an interpreter, a translator?

If you put a dollar in a jar for every time people tell you that, you'd be having a good time somewhere without AI.....

I have tried to explain to customers, journalists, tech experts and the random person that what we do is not about substituting words from Language A with words from Language B, that, while AI may help in automating repetitive tasks, it can not be used to provide language services.

I am constantly being told that I'm in denial.

So, fine. Here's me investigating the matter. And one point I keep raising is bias. AI algorithms and models are developed in the "white world", by "white men", based on "white perception".

Bias is dangerous and misleading when it comes to translation.

It can affect the choice of words, the tone, the interpretation of a sentence, the understanding of a concept, the interaction with the speaker or the audience.

These concerns do not seem to worry "experts", as they say that AI can be trained to overcome bias.

Oh really?

Just out of curiosity, I tried the most basic form of interaction with AI. I asked an AI tool to draw an illustration of me. I gave very specific prompts of what I look like, my age, my style, my hair, my skin tone, my features, my Mediterranean origin. Everything except my country.

I am 56, I have silver hair and I haven't had any cosmetic surgery.

For over an hour, the tool created illustrations of me that were too young, with skin either too light or too dark. So despite me correcting the illustrations several times, the tool kept showing me as a young European in 85% of illustrations, and as Black in the rest.

In total, over 20 illustrations were created. Not one was right.

The AI was stuck on an age and race bias.

To be more specific, I told it I was Tunisian. The AI did confirm the general features of Tunisian women and offered to create a new illustration taking into consideration this factor.

And guess what? "Tunisian" triggered another bias. All of a sudden, on the illustrations generated, I was wearing a headscarf.

I never mentioned a scarf. I don't wear one. 16 illustrations generated, with me repeating I don't wear a scarf, and the tool still drew me with a scarf one way or another on 12 of them.......

It kept apologizing but continued to draw me with a scarf. Despite my prompts and my comments, and despite it recognizing the mistake and the bias.

Yes, many women from Tunisia wear headscarves, and that's their choice, which I totally respect. But I don't. And I told the AI so, repeatedly asking it to correct the illustration.

In the end, clearly bias is very strong and deeply rooted in the knowledge base of the AI tool.

So think again. Do you want your content translated/interpreted with accuracy, efficiency and proficiency or do you want it affected by race, age, origin-based (and whatever else) bias?

Your content, your choice.

I'm often asked what it means to do copywriting or be a professional writer.

To explain a bit the what, how, when, where, why of the job I basically create written content for hire.

As a language specialist, this is one aspect of my daily work. I basically wear the hat of my different clients to produce written content for their brand, internal documents, corporate communication supports to translate their values, the work they do, the services and products they sell in a format accessible to internal and external stakeholders. And I do it in different languages.

This takes of course language skills but also business sense, a talent for communication, a love for words. It also often takes awareness of specific fields of business or civil society issues.

The work involves long hours of research, reading, editing. You must find the right details, the right tone, the right expressions, the right format.

Is it boring? I don't think so. I find it satisfying, challenging, fulfilling. I love being able to integrate a team, share their world, contribute to their mission and build something with them, a brand, content, an image, a feel for a project, a product, an event.

And again. #ItsNotJustWords

A question that comes often. What does it take to become a translator or an interpreter? What are the requirements? What degree do you need?

Let me tell you this. In most cases, no degree is required. It may shock some, but that's the truth of the matter. From a regulatory or legal standpoint, there’s no universally recognized degree as THE reference or requirement.

There's a generation factor here. Many of the older generation practitioners do not have specific degrees. Often, it's a language degree, but we also have some lawyers, cultural studies experts, journalists, history teachers, diplomats, or just people that life brought to the job.

The newer generation is better equipped in terms of degrees and formal training. Simply because, in the meantime, specific training has become widely available and younger people tend to pursue further academic studies.

But, here’s the crux of the matter: having a degree, being fluent in languages is not enough. It's only the beginning of the journey. We are not just vehicles for words. We are vehicles for content. If you think you're only translating or interpreting words, you're doing it wrong.

You need to understand the content, the subject of the document or event. You need to have minimum knowledge of the background information, of the technical aspects, of how a process, a machine, a system, a company operates before you can accurately convey the message about it to an audience in a given language.

Does this mean you need to be an economist to work with economic content, or a doctor for medical content, or a scientist for any other scietific content? No. But you need to have knowledge of the many factors of an economic cycle, the basic functions of a human body, the theory behind the science.

How are you supposed to do that? Through reading, through common sense, through keeping up with technology, science, politics, society, the news, etc. Reading, searching, checking, watching tv, observing the world, and, most of all, absorbing content while you work. Don't just let it glide over you, don't be just a word-for-word machine. Focus, engage, pay attention, take notes, look things up on the internet.

You're working with a Chef or a food-industry company? Read about food, watch documentaries about food, learn the lingo, learn the process. Same for the energy sector, the construction sector, finance, development projects, aid, banking, infrastructure.

What's the difference between a suspension bridge and an arch bridge? What's a yield curve? What does haircut mean in finance? What's the GII? What does a pig do on an oil rig?

Learning this, learning to constantly improve such skills, this is what sets you apart. This is what clients are after. Good clients. They know it's not just about speaking the language; it's about speaking the subject;;

With remote simultaneous interpretation, we often work with international participants from different countries. This often means dealing with different time zones. 

We then have to make sure the right time to connect from our location and make sure everyone is aware of the time difference, in particular with daylight saving time. 

I recently worked on an event where the main speaker fails to connect because he got confused about the time. On another event, we discovered during the test meeting that the organizers had agreed with the speaker on a change of time without informing us or the participants, and without changing the online meeting settings.

No matter what happens, we interpreters must be on time.

There are some tools and tricks to help manage this.

Of course, smartphones usually allow you to calculate time differences. But I find it easier to look things up on my computer.

There are different websites that convert times from different zones.

I use Timebie. It's pretty basic and allows you to convert time from 2 locations throughout the day by brackets of 30 minutes, and other options.

World Time Buddy is a time zone converter that shows the difference between 2 or more locations. You can also share the link to your choice of locations with other participants.

The easiest trick is to sync your Zoom and Google Calendar. Events will appear on your calendar on the appropriate time. No guessing.

A tip for hosts: add a Google Calendar invite to your event invitation. This will allow you to track all participants who RSVP, add documents to the calendar event, and make sure everyone has the right time on their individual calendar.