The publishing world is abuzz with news that Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK), the largest publisher in the Netherlands recently acquired by Simon & Schuster, plans to experiment with using artificial intelligence to assist in translating a select group of commercial fiction titles from Dutch to English. While the publisher emphasizes this will be a limited trial involving fewer than 10 books and extensive human oversight, the announcement has nonetheless sent ripples of concern through the literary translation community.
Harnessing AI for Efficient Translation
According to VBK’s commercial director Vanessa van Hofwegen, the AI translation project will focus exclusively on commercial fiction rather than literary works. “This is on an experimental basis, and we’re only including books where English rights have not been sold, and we don’t foresee the opportunity to sell English rights of these books in the future,” she clarified in a statement. The translated manuscripts will undergo one round of human editing, and authors have been asked to provide consent for the trial.
VBK maintains that the AI technology will serve as an assistive tool in the translation process rather than an outright replacement for human translators. “We are not creating books with AI, it all starts and ends with human action,” a company spokesperson told the Bookseller. The goal, it seems, is to leverage machine translation to make the translation of certain titles more efficient and cost-effective.
Concerns Over Creative Integrity
However, the notion that AI is suitable for translating commercial fiction but not literary works has raised eyebrows among translators. Michele Hutchison, winner of the 2020 International Booker Prize for her translation of The Discomfort of Evening, argued that this “assumes those books are purely formulaic and don’t contain many creative elements, which is rather insulting to the authors and readers involved.”
“There’s only so far you can get” with machine translation post-editing – the process by which a human translator reviews an AI-generated translation. “The text might be superficially smooth but it is also likely to be very bland,” Hutchison added.
-Michele Hutchison, Literary Translator
Other translators echoed these sentiments, warning that an over-reliance on AI risks compromising the artistry and accuracy of translated works. “Taking the translator out of the loop opens the door to incorrect or misleading translations that will serve readers poorly,” cautioned David McKay, a Dutch-to-English translator. Even with human editing, there are doubts about whether a machine can truly capture the nuances, wordplay, and cultural context that make a work sing in another language.
A Worrying Trend for Translators
Beyond the question of quality, the increasing use of AI in translation has many worrying about the future of their profession. A recent survey by the Society of Authors found that over a third of translators have already lost work due to the rise of machine translation tools. “If I were one of VBK’s authors, I would be very worried about how these AI translations will reflect on my work and affect my reputation,” said translator Ian Giles.
For translators, VBK’s AI experiment is an unsettling sign of things to come as publishers look to cut costs and boost output. While few would argue with using technology to assist and enhance human translation, the concern is that AI will increasingly be used as a blunt instrument, eroding the art of translation and devaluing the role of human experts. The editing step in VBK’s process is a tacit acknowledgment that even the most sophisticated AI isn’t fully up to the task – but will that always be enough to preserve a place for humans?
Proceeding with Caution
As one of Europe’s leading publishing houses tests the waters of AI translation, the industry will be watching closely to see how readers and authors react. Will the translated works pass muster, or will the “human touch” be conspicuously absent? How much time and effort will actually be saved once the human editing is accounted for? And most critically, will other publishers be emboldened to follow suit, seeing AI as a shortcut to foreign markets?
Amidst the understandable unease, there are also voices urging an open-minded yet cautious approach. Used judiciously, AI translation tools could help more books reach more readers around the world, particularly titles that might otherwise never be translated. The technology is still developing rapidly, and its potential applications are only just being explored. But as with any major shift, the transition will need to be carefully managed in close consultation with authors, translators, and readers – not just the boardroom.
For now, VBK’s experiment offers a glimpse of an uncertain future – one in which AI and human translators may increasingly work side by side, even as tough questions remain about the nature of their collaboration. As the publishing world navigates this uncharted territory, striking the right balance between efficiency and artistry, and between technology and human expertise, will be key to ensuring that literature in translation continues to thrive.
