« But why do you want to do a translation course? With machine translation, and now ChatGPT, you will never find a job… » This is a remark that many of our students hear, often from their parents. In the press, on social networks, everywhere, alarmist messages proliferate about the planned obsolescence of the translation profession. It seems essential to us to respond to it, without falling into denial of reality or claiming to have all the answers. By recalling a certain number of facts, far from millennial predictions: artificial intelligence (AI) is neither the new representative of Satan on earth nor the solution to all the problems that humanity faces today.
The profession of translator covers a large number of jobs, which have changed profoundly over the last thirty years. Far from being limited to the literary and cultural side, which is the most visible part, translation has moved from a primarily artisanal vision to a professional approach designed to provide a service to society and its various stakeholders (companies, public services, citizens, litigants, etc.). Depending on the scope, it concerns between 20,000 and 50,000 professionals in France, who are an essential, albeit discreet, cog in the functioning of today’s economy and societies. Can they ignore technological developments? Only at their own risk.
Already some perspective on machine translation
Condemning the use of AI without further ado will not prevent its spread. We believe that our role as training managers is not to make a moral judgment on these developments or to dictate to our future graduates what they should become. It remains to prepare our students to make informed choices that will allow them to exercise a remunerative activity, while being recognized at their fair professional value.
This is why, at the level of training courses, of the French association that brings them together (AFFUMT, French Association of University Training in Translation Professions) as well as within the EMT network (European Masters in Translation), we have undertaken to understand what the emergence of AI means in our sector and to provide a thoughtful and constructive response. Because we are part of a complex ecosystem, this reflection is being conducted with the other players in the sector, because it is only together that we will be able to influence these developments, which concern us directly but more broadly affect all of society.
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