Behind the Scenes Part V

Please see samples here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO-QGEbwcTr2MdhbLPPGszMw8Rdc5J9aI

Behind these formal presentations of audio video recordings, there’s something very intriguing and interesting happening behind the scenes. In a very liberal sense, we are not too different from journalists or reporters who report on stories due to inspiration from those around them. What primarily drove us to begin and continue this project were the comments and feedback from interpreters and our colleagues. They have helped prompt and shape our actions, ultimately leading us to explore further, and continue our quest for answers on what the future will be like between AI and interpreters. Some interpreters are worried about not being able to make ends meet in the future, while others are asking why they should worry about AI. Will human language disappear? Will humans become like computers communicating with each other without having to verbally speak as certain individuals claim?

Whether we like it or not, AI will become more and more prevalent on public transportation, on social media, on our phones, in our daily life, and even in our industry. There seems to be a trend where humans make language simpler and friendlier for AI, so it becomes easier and more accurate for AI to translate or interpret. In this way, humans become a conduit for AI and AI becomes a useful tool for people worldwide to communicate with each other instantaneously. AI has evolved to become our translators and interpreters, and this application of AI has steadily become more popular over time. Ever since Google Translate was released, there have been increasingly new AI platforms such as AI video translation, AI spokesperson translation, and so on, that have surfaced. AI has been developed so quickly and accurately that it is just a matter of time until humans fully adopt AI. We tried our hand using one of the latest AI platforms to translate/interpret one of our office videos into Chinese. The results were impressive, but not without some imperfections. The AI voice did much better than the usual, generic robotic voice we typically hear, which most likely has to do with voice cloning.

In the face of rapid development of AI, does it mean that eventually we as interpreters will no longer be needed? How should we give guidance to the younger generation who aspire to become interpreters or translators? These are serious questions that make us really sit down and think and here is what we would like to share.

AI voices are serviceable, but they lack the beauty and liveliness that human voices have. That’s why human voices will always have a place in our world. This is what we set out to prove with the Interpreters and Voices series, and we think we have succeeded. In this blog, we are giving a conclusion about our thoughts on AI and human voices. Everyone knows AI voices are usually robotic and monotonous, but with voice cloning technology, AI could sound better and less robotic. This is why, even in the future, human voices will always play a role because they have that personal touch, which allows us to feel heard and assured. In the Interpreters and Voices series, 17 of our passionate interpreter colleagues have recorded themselves reading various blogs on AI nature and capabilities. Our colleagues have demonstrated how human voices are beautiful and lively compared to AI’s. It shows how big of a gap there is and how big of a gap there will always be between human voices and AI.

First, thanks to the participating interpreter Liling who introduces the concept of “aura” from a mechanical engineering point of view. She said AI-voice interpretations lack a key element – “Aura”.  Aura refers to a quality integral to an artwork that cannot be communicated through mechanical reproduction techniques and was used by Walter Benjamin in his influential 1936 essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”. Human-created artwork has its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be, its ‘aura’.  Using this analogy, each interpreter recording has his/her unique interpretation in a unique space, time, and place, thereby creating an artwork with “aura”.

Second, while AI voices can only say exactly what they are programmed to say, interpreters are able to use their own individuality, smarts, and uniqueness to come up with clever phrasing that perfectly fits the situation, rather than just a word for word translation. Interpreters deliver words in a very exciting way that is palatable to the ear and also interesting to listen to. Each interpreter demonstrated their different interpretation of the script that we provided them. Some interpreters emphasized certain words. Others would, at times, speak at faster speeds. Some interpreters would ad-lib and sing certain parts while others would add a light laugh at a joke. Some interpreters go deeper with a dialogue style as if they are talking to each other, echoing each other, encouraging you to think further, or having a conversation with you. AI is not capable of this kind of responsiveness and communication. All the AI, regardless of which company develops them, lacks variation between them, making it easy to spot them almost right away even if it’s a clone of a human voice!

In the era of AI impacting every industry, including our translation and interpretation industry, these interpreters’ voices seem so wonderful and one of a kind. So we decided to create different collages of voices. We even have different colleagues work separately to create their own versions, and the results are stunning! Despite the colleagues making their own selections from the same pool of recordings, they arranged all the pieces together in different ways to convey their own take on the blog story. The entire project has been about human voices in range, richness, diversity and individuality.  It features different takes on the interpreters’ best individual moments, focuses on elevating each other to higher levels, and aggregates them to a beautiful, powerful collage as a whole. It serves as a reminder that we don’t want a world without human voices and also as a way to perhaps shed some light on the interpretation community. Quite a lot of work has been put into arrange everything for these purposes, but it’s a labor of love, and has been very enjoyable. We’re so excited to share it with everyone!

The video on Interpreters and Voices has a solo and two world versions. The solo version shows how powerful one person can sound while the world versions show how much excitement with many people from all over the world can generate. The world versions feature multiple interpreters from around the world, namely Asia, Europe, North and South Americas, and the Caribbeans. Each participating interpreter submitted their own unique and individual recording. Our colleagues combined them to the effect that it’s almost as if everyone is having a conversation with each other. It’s a truly beautiful collage of voices from around the world, all united for a forum discussion and you’ll feel like you’re right there with them!

It’s fairly easy to spot where different interpreters come from in the world, and it’s all thanks to their distinct styles. At times they are lighthearted, emphatic, or communicative that are embedded in their respective cultures. It’s truly a globally cultural feast! It’s also a showcase of the auras, emotions, and cultures prevailing in the world. Did you feel engaged listening to the interpreters? This collection of auras is something very difficult if not impossible for AI to mimic. We believe that as long as humans carry their own aura and pour it into their creations, AI will have a hard time getting a leg up over humans.

The video on Human Individuality, we’ve also created two versions: a trio and a quartet. The two versions feature three and four interpreters, respectively, and were also created by two different colleagues separately. The effect this makes is quite pronounced, and you feel as if you’re listening to two different pieces entirely.

For the short and sweet Thoughts about AI piece, we initially thought that with the way the content is structured, it’d be best for two interpreters to read it. But then what would happen if we added a third interpreter, someone who comes from another part of the world, instead of the duet of interpreters from the United States? The trio piece features wonderful chemistry between the three interpreters, and if you stay until the end, you’ll be rewarded with a surprise, which we are sure all listeners will enjoy! We have also made a solo version for those who might have been overstimulated by the different voices, and for those who might prefer just a single vocalist instead of an entire band. We enjoyed all of these so much, and absolutely recommend you check them out too! We’ve provided links to the audio and video series below for easy access!

Other than being fun, this project has also helped us see the bigger picture when dealing with translation and interpretation projects. Now we see our overall role very clearly and understand better what’s more important in the work we do. Therefore, we plan to show the series to younger generations, so they understand that translators and interpreters will always have work, and their value to this world will never change. The aura that naturally comes from being a human interpreter has and always will be something sought after. As long as we have energy and fun as humans and as interpreters, we will never have to worry about being replaced by AI. However, if we lose our energy or fun, we are doomed to surrender to AI superiority.

If you would like to encourage the next generation that there is a future for them, and they shouldn’t give up, we’d love to hear your advice to those who aspire to join our industry in the future. We will gather advice from all sources and present them in our next blog. We think that’s what we as translators and interpreters should aim for when we pass the torch on to the next generation in the face of a potentially AI dominated world! But we must always remember that interpretation is like art or music, or a fine-tuned performance, and that’s one thing area humans will remain dominant in for years to come!

Links to Audio Recordings:
1. Thoughts about AI (Solo Version): Posted
2. Thoughts about AI (Duet Version): Posted
3. Thoughts about AI (Trio Version): Posted
4. Diversity and Richness: Posted
5. Human Individuality (Trio Version): Posted
6. Human Individuality (Quartet Version): Posted
7. Interpreters and Voice (Solo Version): Posted
8. Interpreters and Voices (World Version 1): Posted
9. Interpreters and Voices (World Version 2): Posted
10. Human Aura: To Be Posted

Reference Video: Interpreters and Music

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl0vHQPHXA8

Though the industry has been working to have AI better replicate emotion, the current AI is still very monotonous and one-note in terms of its ability to express emotion. As our Chinese colleague Yingjie, who has been involved in natural language AI, commented: It is too early to talk about AI mimicking human emotions.

Exactly because diversity and richness have been the areas where humans outperform AI, this behind the scenes post will be unavoidable lengthier than our usual blogs. In other words, we would like to take the time to discuss diversity and richness and focus on the human side of stories rather than music genres or instruments.

When Mei-Ling casually recorded herself during a relaxing weekend, her intention was for this to serve as a demo for interpreters to participate in and show that the contributions can be just as light and candid as hers. She didn’t expect the video to be so diversified at the global level.

An ASL interpreter Kendra gave us the initial idea to include interpreters whose native language is ASL and interpreters of color. Originally, she was thinking to represent our local bay area communities. But then it was only natural that it evolved to include greater representation of the world communities. Besides interpreters from all over the United States including Hawaii, we have participation from China, Congo-Brazzaville, Egypt, and Israel.

We are so honored to have received contributions from all types: freshly recorded contributions from Davy, Fadhma, Oscar, and Mei-Ling just for this project; good times contributions from Qianxi, Sameh, Flower, and Nia; nostalgic contributions from Christy and Soheir; formal and elegant performances from Laura and Ayumi. Last but certainly not least, Jody contributed an easy-to-understand ASL presentation, and Sharon for giving us such a powerful contribution that we, as members of the global community, can all relate to. What a wonderful group of interpreters!

As you may have noticed, we have kept the audience very busy all the way: They have to watch clips, hear music, read storylines, listen to words from interpreters as well as from voices in the background, think about messages delivered, and all of these are meant to be done simultaneously. This is because we want to create an opportunity for the audience to experience what an interpreter has to go through when interpreting. After all, interpretation does require a bit of talent!

It’s natural to think that interpreters and music are all about performances. However, our perception changed after we received Fadhma’s contribution. We realized that it helped balance what we have been doing, which is listening. It cannot be understated the diversity that Fadhma brought to the project and how she expanded our horizons.

We are also so proud that we have the younger generation’s participation. Oscar’s son, Santiago, sings, plays the piano and the ukelele. Interestingly, he has occasionally interpreted spontaneously for family and relatives, and he is good according to Oscar. In Santiago, we see the hope of our profession and believe the interpretation profession will continue to prevail over AI for many years to come. In addition to Oscar and his son’s duet, we were blown away to watch the contribution from Davy with 3 sons during their family time. Davy’s 3 sons are so adorable, moving along with the music rhythm so naturally that I see the future of our beautiful world in the children of music lovers like Davy. What a beautiful family from Congo-Brazzaville!

Sharon has a huge heart to write such lyrics in her original song Safe Harbor: “No matter what your faith might be, the color of your skin, who you love or who you flee, I will take you in.”  These words cover the full span for world peace and harmony. We are glad to have Sharon whose lyrics have added breadth and depth to this video project!

Flower was celebrating her major birthday and decided the theme to be “Around the World.” We are so appreciative of the richness that has flown out of her clips. The presentation of Mexican, Spanish, American, and Chinese elements in the song, dance, and outfits is both culturally and visually global. What a music and cultural feast to share with us!

Sameh is an Egyptian residing in Egypt and was giving training in Kenya at the African Translators Association. In his singing, we hear “mighty place to be”, so we inserted a scenery background of Kenya, which adds the exotic feel that interpreters experience when they travel to places for assignments. Sameh did professional singing during his last 2 years at college, and he does a lot of styles, ranging from country music to jazz, that explain why he sang so freely and we really enjoy it and admire him!

We cannot thank Nia enough for selecting such a great song for the world community. It perfectly concluded the video project that we have explained in our Part 1 Behind the Scenes blog post. We’d like to thank Qianxi for thinking of us while having a good time during a karaoke party on a small island in south-eastern China. We thank Jody for providing such a wonderful piece for everyone to understand, a clip of her ASL interpretation performance of the star spangled banner. We also want to express our heartfelt thanks to the nostalgia and wonderful past that Christy and Soheir’s contributions did, bringing us back in time and allowing us to relive the past. We would also be remiss if we didn’t give a fond shoutout to Laura and Ayumi’s performances, which represented some of the finest and most expressive types of music, played at the highest level. All of these interpreters have brought the video to a broader, and higher level, ultimately adding much more enjoyment to the audience. Thank you so much!

Every individual contribution represents how the human brain works. We didn’t dictate what each individual would do in their contribution. It was completely up to them and their free choice. And yet, all of the individual contributions have aggregated as a whole to give us a very good sense of our mission and what we are capable of as professional interpreters. As Oscar put it, how uplifting and positive for us all as interpreters!

And then, we wondered what would happen if this topic was taken by an AI without any intervention—what would an AI party resemble without human intervention? Would it be as diversified and rich, or as enjoyable and heartfelt, or as uplifting and positive for us all as interpreters, as if it’d been done solely by humans and their individuality?

Local interpreters carry out their services in person. They travel to the location – a conference, a business meeting, a doctor’s appointment or a court hearing – and interpret onsite, whether consecutive or simultaneous. There are certainly advantages to sticking with this tried and true approach. Since the interpretation is face to face, there are no worries about technological limitation – no extra delays, always the clearest possible picture and sound, no special adjustment and setup needed.

That is not to say there are no possible pitfalls. Naturally, the pool of available local interpreters is limited, and for rare languages may be entirely nonexistent, not to mention that there is a multitude of travel-related concerns and expenses, from car trouble to traffic.

On the other hand, global interpreters work over the phone or, more often today, through video software. Distance between client and interpreter ceases being a concern, and interpreters’ hours become more flexible. Far more languages and much wider pool of interpreters become available. There are no travel expenses.

However, to balance it out, global interpreters are dependent on cutting-edge technology, with all the attached concerns. Fortunately, nowadays, more and more interpreters can meet these requirements, in terms of hardware, software and internet access, and the technology itself has become much more reliable. We are entering into the future.

There is no clear “superior” choice. Whether selecting a global interpreter or calling up a local one is better depends on the event, the languages, set up and people involved, the situation specifics.

We at Monterey Language Services are always striving to determine the best solution for our customers, and to that end, we offer a full line of interpretation services – whatever your needs, we will find the interpreter for you, whether they are five miles away or on the other side of the world.

Monterey Language Services strives to provide the highest quality of translation and interpretation services. Please feel free to contact us for a quote.