“Last Thursday I attended quite a unique event at the Goethe Institute in London, the ‘Human vs Machine’ translation slam. The principle was simple: two professional translators – MA Translation alumna Jo Heinrich and Rebecca DeWald – were put up against artificial intelligence, operated by change consultant Jason Sprague, to translate three texts of different genres. The objective was to observe how each party would navigate the complex use of gendered language in French and German translation.
Having just started an online course in translation I was thrilled at this opportunity as not only did it give me the chance to better understand the field I am going into, but it also led me to meet Christophe, the director of the programme, and two of my fellow students, Luciane and Zeke, in person. Having only ever seen each other through the pixels of our computer screens, it was refreshing to be reminded that I am on a course with real people with real lives, and we soon got chatting about said lives and the different paths that lead us to this course. From an internship in a translation company to a passion for Latin American literature, a rich mix of experiences and interests are what brought us together on this day.
Over a glass of wine, we discussed the outcome of the event: Should we feel threatened by AI? Drop out of the course immediately? Choose a different field, maybe AI development? The short answer for all of us was no, we don’t need to panic quite yet. What emerged from the panel and questions from the audience, was the difficulty to define the role of the translator in an ever-evolving field.
Of course, we are all aware of the power of AI and it was frankly impressive to see some of the work it was able to produce, but it remained that Jason, the person using the AI, having no expertise in either language, was unable to tell the quality of the work produced.
Furthermore, the final translation brief involved a famous children’s book being adapted ‘for girls’, and while the machine typed away, our two human translators were able to think about the implications of such a project that fancied itself ‘inclusive’ and ‘progressive’ while it really just reinforced certain gender stereotypes. Thus, our translators questioned the concept of the project itself.
One reaction from the audience was to say that however valid these concerns are it is surely not the job of the translator to address them, which brought up an interesting point: Is translating simply taking a text and writing it in a different language or can this title ‘translator’ refer to a wider range of activities? Especially as translation students, this resonated with us as we begin to try and find our place in this sector. Embracing technology and change is a necessary part of most (if not every) area of life and the language industry is no exception. This event was a demonstration of this fact and highlighted the need to explore the extent and diversity of what we call a translator.”
Watch a short reel about the event here.
Join the next event at the Institut Francais in Edinburgh on 27 November 2025!
Contact Christophe Fricker if you would like to organise a slam where you are.