AI can translate words, but doesn't bear responsibility, experts say

Experts gathered at a conference on literary translation organized by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea said that translators must not defend their role by competing with artificial intelligence (AI) in terms of speed, but rather by accepting responsibility for the cultural and ethical decisions incorporated into their work.

The International Translators Summit convened Lee Sang-bin, a professor of English interpretation and translation at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies; Stine An, a Korean American literary translator and poet; and novelist-translator Moon Ji-hyuk for the discussion.

The conversation did not revolve around the question of whether AI could generate accurate translations. Instead, the panelists concentrated on who ought to be held accountable for a translation, how translators should incorporate AI into their work, and which aspects of translation should be strictly human-led. Professor Lee highlighted that translation is not merely the transfer of meaning from one language to another.

"I want to say that translation is not the work of copying meaning, but an act of responding to the words of the other," he stated. He emphasized that a translator cannot ever fully comprehend an author's intent or the nuances of their work.