Abstract:
Technological advances are an integral part of translation in all its facets: research, education, and practice. From early computer-assisted translation tools to the most recent iterations of machine translation, once disruptive technologies have systematically become commonplace; resulting in lasting changes into how translation services are engaged, planned, developed, supplied, used, and perceived. What has sustained throughout these technological changes is a set of enduring human skills that are inherent to the translation process regardless of its technological contexts.
While previous work has largely identified what these skills are and how they can be embedded into our curricula and pedagogies, contemporary developments in AI, particularly generative AI, have attracted renewed attention to the impact of disruptive technologies in translation education and research, professional practice, and the multifaceted realities and perceptions of the language services industry, more broadly.
In this seminar, we pose to you a series of questions and their responses informed by our own research and educational practices at the University of New South Wales, including recent empirical evidence, industry data, and feedback from students, graduates, industry, and government stakeholders.
We ask you: what are the expectations from and of our students and graduates? How we can best prepare them to be informed, critical, creative, ethical, and efficient leaders in an increasing dynamic AI translation world? How do we empower existing professionals in the face of AI translation and the subsequent disruptions to supply and demand models, workflows, client expectations, and public perceptions? And how can we draw upon evidence-based research to inform our education programs, industry standards, and professional best practices?
About the Speakers:
Dr Stephen Doherty is Professor of Linguistics, Interpreting and Translation in the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture at the University of New South Wales, where he is also Deputy Dean (Education) and leads the Language Processing Research Lab. With a focus on the psychology of language and technology, his research investigates human language processing and usage in diverse contexts.
Dr Jia Zhang is a Senior Research Officer in the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture at the University of New South Wales. Jia’s research interests include translation technology, translator training, and audiovisual translation, with his current research centred on integrating machine translation into translator training.
Background Readings:
Doherty, S. (2016). The impact of translation technologieson the process and product of translation. International Journal of Communication, 10 (2016), 947–969. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3499
Zhang, J., & Doherty, S. (2025). Investigating novice translation students’ AI literacy in translation education. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750399X.2025.2541478
Zhang, J., Zhao, X., & Doherty, S. (2025). Prompt engineering in translation: How do student translators leverage GenAI tools for translation tasks. In Proceedings of Machine Translation Summit XX: Volume 1, pages 420–431, Geneva, Switzerland. European Association for Machine Translation. https://aclanthology.org/2025.mtsummit-1.33/
Gaspari, F., Almaghout, H., & Doherty, S. (2015). A survey of machine translation competences: Insights for translation technology educators and practitioners. Perspectives, 23(3), 333–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2014.979842