Tech journalists often play a crucial role in shaping public perception and influencing purchasing decisions.
The Hype: Machine Translation's Falsely Claimed Error Rates
Machine translation vendors capitalize on this by promoting their products with seemingly impressive claims of low word error rates (WER), ranging from 20-25%. An excerpt of the original article, posted on iTportal.com Online Magazine, can be found here:
(Even vendors of AI power machine translation software claim jaw dropping WER in the single digits, such as 5%!)
However, professional translators know that even a mere 1% error rate is unacceptable for delivering accurate, quality translations.
Let's explore whether machine translation lives up to the marketing hype or falls short in delivering true language precision.
Machine Translation Reality Check
Despite years of advancements, machine translation continues to disappoint in terms of accuracy.
Whether it's the latest offerings from tech giants like Microsoft or Google Pixel, error rates remain. This translates to numerous translation mistakes that can at best lead to embarrassing miscommunications and at worst potentially damaging consequences for businesses and individuals alike - to say “life and limb” is not an exaggeration!
Validating the efficacy of machine translation is fairly straightforward. We have been running a series of experiments over a decade doing just. Click here to get the latest results Looking for Free Japanese Translation?
Where Quality Trumps Hype
When precision and reliability are paramount, professional translators are your best bet.
Machine translation may be alluring with its low costs; however, the risk of compromising accuracy and authenticity is too significant to overlook. As a professional translation company in Tokyo Japan, we value human expertise in understanding cultural nuances, context, and linguistic intricacies.
By partnering with seasoned professionals, you ensure that your translations are not only error-free but also culturally appropriate and impactful.
Separating the Wheat from the Chaff
Tech journalists play a role in shaping perceptions, but it's essential to separate hype from reality.
Machine translation may promise low error rates, but in practice, it still falls short -way short- of the precision delivered by professional Japanese human translators. When accuracy matters, opt for professional expertise!