The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2019 - 25

ANNOUNCEMENT
the human brain. And this is exactly what
pop culture and news outlets also want us
to believe.

I believe we're dealing with
several "fake news" items when
it comes to translation, especially
translation technology.

The fact? It isn't true. How do I know?
Because we don't understand our brains.
We don't know how memories are stored.
We don't know why some parts of the
brain are responsible for some functions
but can also be completely reconfigured.
We don't even know whether brain
activity is actually a matter of computation
or a completely different kind of process.
We don't know what causes moods,
creativity, intelligence, wit, and emotions.
And we certainly don't know what "mind"
and "consciousness" are. We do know
some impressive numbers (100 billion
neurons, 100 trillion synapses, etc.), and
lots of people are working very hard and
making good progress on understanding
more and more about the human (or
really any) brain. But we're still very far
from having a good grasp on this most
elusive of realms.
So, is there no artificial intelligence?
Well, yes, there is, but it's just that it
doesn't work like the human brain. In
fact, the term "artificial intelligence" is
incomplete. We should always refer to
its full and technically correct moniker,
which is "narrow AI." (That already
sounds a lot better, doesn't it?)
Narrow AI is the ability of a machine to
non-concurrently process large amounts
of data and make predictions exclusively
on the basis of that data. That's what we
have today, and computers are incredibly
good at it. Much better than we are.
General AI (also referred to as
"Artificial General Intelligence," or AGI),
on the other hand, may never actually be
achieved. We don't even know whether
AGI will be built on the basis of narrow
AI's current technology. If we ever reach
true AGI, machines will be able to
reason, use strategy, make judgments,
www.atanet.org

learn, communicate in natural language,
and integrate all of this toward common
goals. (And, yes, also likely do a good
job with translation and pretty much
everything else.)
A few weeks ago I did a presentation for
a class taught by a super-smart developer
who also works for a large technology
developer. I explained the differences
between narrow AI and AGI, emphasizing
as I did here that we don't understand how
our brain works and that it isn't a model
for our current state of AI. At the end of
my talk a number of questions were raised,
to which my developer acquaintance
responded by explaining that our current
form of AI is modeled on the human brain.
This was exactly the opposite of what I had
just said, though I think he didn't realize it.
If we've been taught a certain concept over
and over and over again, it's not a matter of
hearing the opposite once and being able
to replace it easily. It takes a lot of patience
and time.

ALLIANT: ATA'S PROFESSIONAL
LIABILITY INSURANCE BROKER
Alliant is the broker for ATA-sponsored
professional liability insurance. The
underwriter is Lloyd's of London.

Why choose the ATA-sponsored
professional liability insurance?
The policy is specific to the translation
and interpreting professions. This is not
a one-size-fits-all plan, but a plan that is
specific to the work you do.

What does the ATA-sponsored
professional liability insurance cover?
■

interpreting services: Covers nearly
all activities relevant to a translator

KEEP WORKING TO CHANGE
PERCEPTIONS
Let's teach ourselves and others that
today's artificial intelligence doesn't
emulate the human brain (and it's entirely
possible that it will never be able to do
so). Let's keep on repeating to the rest of
the world that there are many ways to
use MT, sometimes better than those that
are assumed by default. We might just be
able to turn that "fake news" into real and
helpful news.
FURTHER READING
Broussard, Meredith. Artificial Unintelligence:
How Computers Misunderstand the
World (The MIT Press, 2018),
http://bit.ly/Broussard-Artificial-Unintelligence.
Reese, Byron. The Fourth Age: Smart Robots,
Conscious Computers, and the Future
of Humanity (Atria Books, 2018),
http://bit.ly/Reese-Fourth-Age.

Broad definition of translation/

or interpreter, including editing,
publishing, and proofreading.
■

Coverage for contingent bodily injury
and/or property damage: Covers
errors in providing translation/
interpreting services that result in
bodily injury and/or property damage.
These types of claims are typically
excluded by generic professional
liability policies.

■

Coverage for cyber liability, including
HIPAA and HITECH breaches: Covers
breaches related to the provision of
professional services in violation or
breach of the HIPAA and HITECH Acts.

Visit ata.alliant.com for additional
Jost Zetzsche is chair of
ATA's Translation and
Interpreting Resources
Committee. He is the author of
Translation Matters, a collection
of 81 essays about translators
and translation technology. Contact: jzetzsche@
internationalwriters.com.

information.
Questions? Contact Alliant at
+1-703-547-5777 or
ata-questions@alliant.com

American Translators Association

25
http://www.bit.ly/Broussard-Artificial-Unintelligence http://www.bit.ly/Reese-Fourth-Age http://ata.alliant.com http://www.atanet.org
The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2019
