How are technologies changing linguistics?

Last week, CEO of AWATERA spoke at the 6th Digital City Forum held by RBC. Discussing the impact of technologies on translation business, Alexey Shesterikov highlighted the factors influencing the industry's transformation.

We can already witness today the dramatic changes in linguistics ushered in by new technologies. In certain cases, applying neural machine translation, translation memory, and other industry solutions leaves no more than 20% of the text for the translator to process. "In 5–10 years time, the translator's job description will undergo a striking transformation. If you want to be worth your salt, you'll need to start building up competencies in other areas, particularly in IT, already now. As for interpretation services, VRI platforms have by now eliminated the need for the interpreter to be physically present at the venue, boosting efficiency and cutting related expenses. The implementation of voice recognition and reproduction technologies will help further streamline interpretation workflow anytime soon," argues Alexey Shesterikov.

According to forum participants, AI as a really advanced technology with proven efficiency is bound to develop further. "We should accept the things we are unable to change, and learn how to enjoy them," summed up the discussion Alexey Shesterikov.