Four translators and interpreters talk about the impact new technologies like generative AI are having on their work and future career prospects
Since ChatGPT burst onto the scene last year, stories have abounded about how AI will take the jobs of millions. In China’s creative industries, that process is already well underway. Generative AI models can, in a matter of clicks, produce intricate images, succinct copy, and even error-free code.
One industry that has operated under the shadow of technology since before ChatGPT was even conceived, however, is translation. Some thought Google and other translation software would be the end of human translators, but they survived. Now, the industry is changing again in the face of large language models. Here, four translation industry insiders working in English and Chinese describe how AI has changed their work.
Dylan Levi King, translator of various Chinese authors including Jia Pingwa, and writer
As I started to establish myself as a translator, I had an image in my head of what their practice looked like: They sat in front of a word processor, with the original work cracked open beside them, and pounded out their interpretation. This is still how I usually work, but I’ve come to see I’m an anachronism.
Will ChatGPT Really Kill the Chinese Translation Industry? is a story from our issue, “Online Odyssey.” To read the entire issue, become a subscriber and receive the full magazine.
Roman Kierst is a staff writer and editor at The World of Chinese based in Beijing but much more at home in Chengdu, where his own China story first began as a high school exchange student in 2006. Likes to pick up a film camera occasionally to take pictures of (mostly) old places.
Sam Davies is the managing editor at The World of Chinese. He writes mainly about Chinese society, especially life outside the biggest cities. His pieces touching on diverse topics from the future of China’s ski industry to efforts to prevent juvenile crime.
