| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: Compare your turnover in Q1 2024 to your turnover in Q1 2023 - was it...? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Bruno Pavesi 
Brazil
Local time: 20:06
Member (2020)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Wouldn't say I feel threatened by AI but... | Apr 17 |
It's pretty obvious more and more clients are using it. I find ways of still making myself "useful" through reviews or post-edit (how are we paid less for such a pain in the a** job?). There are cases where I think "you really, really shouldn't use AI for that..." (i.e. Market research, complex reports) but, hey, if that's the path they want to take.
However, in my specific case, it's been lower mostly because last year a client of mine had a big release that involved a lot of conte... See more It's pretty obvious more and more clients are using it. I find ways of still making myself "useful" through reviews or post-edit (how are we paid less for such a pain in the a** job?). There are cases where I think "you really, really shouldn't use AI for that..." (i.e. Market research, complex reports) but, hey, if that's the path they want to take.
However, in my specific case, it's been lower mostly because last year a client of mine had a big release that involved a lot of content.
Still, as a person relying 100% on my profession for income with 2 autistic kids and a wife with Ehlers-Danlos, any indication that my clients are using AI is something that keeps me a bit uneasy. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Edward Potter
Spain
Local time: 01:06
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
EI1 wrote: Kai Döring wrote:
It seems AI is taking over more and more. AI solutions in their current shape noticeably underperform as compared with other translation technologies that have been there for quite a while, starting from DeepL. And yet, the latter didn't replace anybody, but they rather generated different types of jobs, such as those related with post-editing, making the process faster and easier. This has led to higher productivity and profits. The AI trend that started in late 2022 seems to be more of a hype similar to the dot.com bubble in the 2000s. We are facing a significant technological improvement in large language models that may potentially bring about a revolution but not so fast, although the technology is being "overpromoted" for business reasons, such as attracting investment capital by startups and causing AI stocks to soar. Some of the new AI solutions prove to be useful already, but they are more often helpful in research than in the translation process. Of course, the above applies when we deal with specialist translation, not general texts that are less demanding terminologically and hence easier to handle by software. As for the survey question, I think the recent situation is a result of the global turmoil, i.e. economic slowdown and geopolitical upheaval. [Zmieniono 2024-04-17 15:43 GMT]
Your post almost sounds like it was written in "AIese". May I?
"While AI has undoubtedly revolutionized the translation industry with its efficiency and speed, its dominance raises valid concerns. Firstly, the reliance on AI risks devaluing human translators' expertise and cultural insights. Language isn't just about words; it's about nuances, context, and cultural sensitivities that AI often fails to grasp accurately. Consequently, the quality of translations may suffer, especially in complex or specialized domains where human understanding is indispensable.
Moreover, the widespread adoption of AI in translation could lead to job displacement, affecting livelihoods in the industry. Many skilled translators might find themselves sidelined or forced to compete with machines, potentially driving down wages and eroding job opportunities.
Furthermore, the monopolization of translation by AI could exacerbate issues of data privacy and security, as sensitive information passes through algorithms controlled by corporations, raising questions about confidentiality and misuse.
In summary, while AI offers undeniable benefits, its unchecked expansion in the translation industry poses significant ethical, economic, and cultural challenges that demand careful consideration."
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 01:06
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| so what are the results telling us? | Apr 18 |
A lot lower 29.2%
About the same 21.2%
A little lower 19.5%
A little higher 13.6%
A lot higher 12.7%
Other 3.8%
339 votes
| | | | EI1
Poland
Local time: 01:06
Member (2022)
English to Polish
+ ...
Edward Potter wrote: Your post almost sounds like it was written in "AIese". May I? "While AI has undoubtedly revolutionized the translation industry with its efficiency and speed, its dominance raises valid concerns. Firstly, the reliance on AI risks devaluing human translators' expertise and cultural insights. Language isn't just about words; it's about nuances, context, and cultural sensitivities that AI often fails to grasp accurately. Consequently, the quality of translations may suffer, especially in complex or specialized domains where human understanding is indispensable. Moreover, the widespread adoption of AI in translation could lead to job displacement, affecting livelihoods in the industry. Many skilled translators might find themselves sidelined or forced to compete with machines, potentially driving down wages and eroding job opportunities. Furthermore, the monopolization of translation by AI could exacerbate issues of data privacy and security, as sensitive information passes through algorithms controlled by corporations, raising questions about confidentiality and misuse. In summary, while AI offers undeniable benefits, its unchecked expansion in the translation industry poses significant ethical, economic, and cultural challenges that demand careful consideration."
As I suggested, the AI trend appears to be largely a "marketing vehicle" based on a promising but unfinished technology that needs much more time to be developed and adopted globally than it may seem at first glance. We've seen similar trends already, like the dot.com bubble, which caused a premature hype leading to overinvestment. 2000 was 24 years ago. AI hasn't revolutionized the translation industry if we understand the term "AI" as something different than ordinary neural networks, i.e. as large language models. The whole fuss didn't start in 2017 when Deepl was first released, although the service has actually changed more in the industry than Chat GPT 3.5 from late 2022. In terms of translation, the latter provides significantly lower quality than the already available MT providers, which still didn't contribute to mass job displacement. Instead, they created more jobs of different kinds and made our job more productive. Many companies have been trying to jump on the bandwagon by putting "AI" in every service possible not because it's a revolutionary technology. They expect their services to be purchased willingly by hyped consumers.
[Zmieniono 2024-04-18 22:54 GMT]
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| working for peanuts is getting real..! | Apr 19 |
I have been in this business since 2002 and Q1 2024 was by far the worst one in terms of overall income. War in Ukraine, the expectation of a global recession, widespread use of AI/machine in translation,.. - all played their part I guess...
p.s. someone just contacted me to do "linguistic testing" for 0.15 USD per screenshot, and each screenshot usually contains several strings to check. You do 100 screenshots in probably 3 hours, and you earn 15 bucks...! ... See more I have been in this business since 2002 and Q1 2024 was by far the worst one in terms of overall income. War in Ukraine, the expectation of a global recession, widespread use of AI/machine in translation,.. - all played their part I guess...
p.s. someone just contacted me to do "linguistic testing" for 0.15 USD per screenshot, and each screenshot usually contains several strings to check. You do 100 screenshots in probably 3 hours, and you earn 15 bucks...! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 01:06
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Zea_Mays wrote:
A lot lower 29.2%
About the same 21.2%
A little lower 19.5%
A little higher 13.6%
A lot higher 12.7%
Other 3.8%
339 votes
That over 60% is still doing ok, which is in line with a lot of other polls over the past 4 years (since I became a Proz member).
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