"Human-AI translation" doesn't exist

 However, AI translation does, and human translation is still a thing. It’s kind of mind-blowing that one should reaffirm that, but I realized that nowadays, if you want to find a localization agency that doesn’t use AI, when typing “human translation”, you only get “human-AI translation”.

The idea is that nobody would be so bold as to claim that AI translation can work by itself, without a “human touch” or other marketing bullshit.

We would be in that perfect world where human beings work hand in hand with the machine, the machine “empowering” them and “enhancing” their work. More often than not, this is pure fantasy.

AI in translation is used to speed up deliveries (and the deadlines were already short before that) and to cut down on the budget. Tempting, isn’t it? Yes, but there’s no magic in this: this just means lowering quality standards and reducing people to poverty because they can’t make a living anymore. Human-AI translation is AI translation with enslaved humans working for the machine.

I think we need to ask ourselves: at what point will we consider this is fast enough, cheap enough? How can anyone work in a world that hasn’t put any limit to this tendency? Work takes time and money, period. You get good or bad results depending on the amount of time and money you invested. So yes, players can play badly translated games. Do they like it? Do they want it? Probably not, but it’s no concern for big companies that aren’t publishers at all nowadays, they simply are factories that are completely oblivious to the fact they’re fabricating cultural products. Video games are art, they always have been, and they always will be, but the current conditions of production don’t allow to work correctly, to foster creativity, to let skilled people do something worth it.

Human-AI translation means that nobody cares about doing the right thing. This means the localization will be cheap and fast, nothing less, nothing more.

This means everyone is okay with plain old mediocrity, with bland games conveying nothing of importance, no real emotions or ideas.

If you find it sad or revolting, know that human translation and creative games are still a thing. They’re just harder to come by. If you want to localize your game, you may struggle to find a reliable localization partner, but there are small agencies out there that do care about their work and their freelance partners. Freelance themselves haven’t let go all hope to do their job correctly, not enslaved by the machine.