The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    4 Chinese, 4 Russian military planes enter Korea's air defense zone without notice

  • 3

    'The Second Husband' co-stars to the tie knot, expecting child in real life

  • 5

    Egyptian national arrested for possession of cannabis cookie

  • 7

    Presidential office's plan to revamp TV viewing fees causes stir

  • 9

    Samsung family takes out stock loans to pay inheritance tax

  • 11

    Heart transplant recipients tie the knot

  • 13

    Incheon announces plans to become hub for overseas Koreans

  • 15

    S. Korea wins seat on UN Security Council for 2024-25

  • 17

    Controversy grows as fisheries ministry stresses safety of seafood, salt, beaches

  • 19

    Seoul Queer Culture Festival venue moved to Euljiro

  • 2

    Asiana Airlines pilots union to initiate mass flight delays

  • 4

    Korean food's global popularity leads to copycat products in China, Japan

  • 6

    'Dynamite' tops 1.7 bil. YouTube views to become most-watched BTS MV

  • 8

    ROK-US alliance is now nuclear-based: President Yoon

  • 10

    14 injured as escalator reverses at Sunae Station in Bundang

  • 12

    International Yoga Day to celebrate well-being of body, mind

  • 14

    Saudi mega-city project NEOM secures $5.6 bil. for workforce housing

  • 16

    JYP founder to work as guest commentator for NBA finals on Korean cable

  • 18

    Hyundai Motor, IKEA join hands to promote sustainable outdoor activities

  • 20

    JPMorgan chief meets with Korean financial leaders

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • About the past
  • Korea: deConstructed
  • Parchment Made of Sheepskins
  • Workable Words
  • Dialogues with Adoptees
  • Imbricated Chaos
Thu, June 8, 2023 | 14:08
Will AI replace human translation?
Posted : 2019-02-16 09:12
Updated : 2019-02-17 10:43
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
By Lee Jun-ho

Lee Jun-ho
Lee Jun-ho
The development of new technologies heralds a huge transformation called the 4th Industrial Revolution. It seems undeniable the transformation will bring more convenience to humankind. However, there is no revolution without losers.

Convenience will favor those on the winning side; however, misery will haunt those on the losing side. This is a fact of life that nobody wants to swallow.

However, the technological revolution will continue to zero in on a new service area. Once any profession is pointed out as a target, it will be challenging for any industry to counter against the blast.

The case in point is the translation industry, which has been forcibly chosen as the next mission for artificial intelligence to clear. Google launched its Neural-network Machine Translation (NMT) service in 2016. The accuracy and fluency were better than its previous machine translation service. The media started to create hyperbole about machine translation, and those who have never cared about the job of translation started to talk about translation and its future.

Of course, it is understandable that lay people blindly believe that human translation can be replaced by machine translation in the future. However, what matters is that experts in translation studies and practice do not believe so. Who is right and who is wrong?

To answer this question, it is necessary to present a series of solid facts and convincing arguments about the current status of machine translation. Then, it would be helpful for readers to make an informed prediction rather than a biased assumption.

As a first step, this commentary will introduce general and social considerations pertaining to machine translation. Later, machine translation will be further analyzed based on feedback from translation practice and technology experts.

One mistake people make when discussing translation is to focus only on transfer of superficial meaning from one language to another. However, translation is a part of many social activities and can have social ramifications. For example, online translation services are provided free, but no one can be 100 percent certain that the service provider does not read, utilize or store the text data users input. Because of such security concerns, a few companies have already started encouraging employees not to use online translation services for any confidential information.

Translation is another form of linguistic activity, and any linguistic activity can have a direct impact on human behaviors.

This important principle seems to be often forgotten as too much attention is given only to technical integrity. To be more specific, a mistranslation can cause significant consequences in a high-stakes environment such as legal and medical communications.

No one is willing to undergo a surgery solely relying on machine translation, however well it may turn out. This means there must be someone, not something, who can verify whether the machine translation is correct and will not harm users. That is why machine translation will have limited areas of application as long as an emotional barrier exists in human hearts.


Lee Jun-ho is a professional conference interpreter specialized in information technology. He has been teaching translation at a graduate school and other universities for seven years, completed PhD coursework and studies intensively about the feasibility of machine translation. He can be reached at cuefit@gmail.com.


Emailcuefit@gmail.com Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
wooribank
Top 10 Stories
1Heart transplant recipients tie the knot Heart transplant recipients tie the knot
2Seoul Queer Culture Festival venue moved to Euljiro Seoul Queer Culture Festival venue moved to Euljiro
3Experts skeptical about effectiveness of S. Korea's UNSC seat to rein in NK Experts skeptical about effectiveness of S. Korea's UNSC seat to rein in NK
4Korea, Poland celebrate rollout of Warsaw's first FA-50 Korea, Poland celebrate rollout of Warsaw's first FA-50
5Samsung to unveil new foldable phones at Galaxy Unpacked in Seoul Samsung to unveil new foldable phones at Galaxy Unpacked in Seoul
6Yido bridges East, West via fusion cuisine in crafted ceramics Yido bridges East, West via fusion cuisine in crafted ceramics
7Coupang, Baemin under pressure from radical labor groups Coupang, Baemin under pressure from radical labor groups
8Rise in temperatures, solar radiation by 2100 inevitable: weather agency Rise in temperatures, solar radiation by 2100 inevitable: weather agency
9Umbrella union boycotts negotiating body to protest labor crackdownUmbrella union boycotts negotiating body to protest labor crackdown
10Tax on domestic cars to be lowered in July Tax on domestic cars to be lowered in July
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Frieze Seoul unveils stronger lineup of Asian galleries for its second edition Frieze Seoul unveils stronger lineup of Asian galleries for its second edition
2'Leaving Las Vegas' director Mike Figgis puts Korea in spotlight in new film 'Leaving Las Vegas' director Mike Figgis puts Korea in spotlight in new film
3[REVIEW] 'The ODD Of LOVE' concert: Taeyeon shows why she is among K-pop's top vocalists REVIEW'The ODD Of LOVE' concert: Taeyeon shows why she is among K-pop's top vocalists
4Baritone Kim Tae-han wins Queen Elisabeth Competition Baritone Kim Tae-han wins Queen Elisabeth Competition
5Busan Film Festival accepts director Huh Moon-yung's resignation Busan Film Festival accepts director Huh Moon-yung's resignation
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group