Interpretation is the art of connecting humans from different linguistical, social and cultural backgrounds by conveying the speaker’s message faithfully and accurately.

Yes, interpretation is an art and not just a mere literal translation of speeches and dialogues. This deep and rich domain demands high cognitive awareness as well as the ability to adapt and safeguard the exact meaning that the orator is trying to convey to his audience or counterpart who often would be of different cultures and backgrounds. All these skills and competences require a well-trained professional human interpreter that acts as the bridge that crosses over language barriers and connects humans of all walks of life.

However, the obvious presence of the elephant in the room cannot be ignored… AI is advancing at an unprecedented rate, to levels that were never even imagined. Its response has become instantaneous, roaming the web, searching hundreds of sites at once and delivering answers that are often pretty accurate in just few seconds. This very advancement that many praise is causing a great worldwide panic over the future of many professions including interpretation.

Let’s take a deep breath and remind ourselves of something essential. Artificial intelligence is far from achieving perfection, for perfection is only attributed to God Almighty. Therefore, AI is still progressing and still lacks in so many areas especially linguistically. Not forgetting privacy, for many sensitive settings require some kind of secrecy which AI does not provide but rather uses every bit of information fed into it. Moreover, interpretation is a delicate undertaking that requires precise translation and the careful selection of exact terms, particularly in sensitive contexts. Providing translation for world leaders, renowned scientists, or government officials demands a high level of precision and discretion—standards that artificial intelligence has not yet fully achieved and still has significant progress to make.

The Holy Bible clearly states in Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Consequently, if we keep on worrying about our future and always fearing what is coming, we will not advance an inch forward in life but rather we will collapse and fail. Instead of worrying about the future be thankful for today, work hard on yourself, develop your translating skills and improve the quality of your rendition in order for you to become an indispensable chief asset that even AI cannot replace.

Paolo Souaidy

M1 Interpretation