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CEO Welocalize
While there are many use cases for generative AI across corporations, we expect content supply chains to be disrupted as all the major content platforms integrate generative AI “co-pilots” into their applications.
Consequently, localization workflows are about to change. Some content types will still follow the traditional linear process of translating from a source to a target language. However, other content types will be generated directly by generative AI applications in multiple languages and will likely dramatically increase in volume.
These changes present both risk and opportunity for Localization leaders, who should engage with content departments upstream to have a seat at the table and to shape solutions.
While translation quality between generative AIs and nMTs show that the latter currently perform better, the environment will create pressure to adopt translation automation more aggressively. Localization functions may expand from translation management to global content management, which could involve services such as model training and management, prompt engineering, and curating.
In short, the localization landscape is about to change dramatically. Localization leaders need to be out in front to ensure they are well-positioned to help their corporations take advantage of the opportunities that generative AI presents.
Macro-economic forces will shape demand for language services by affecting the general business environment and companies’ investment plans for product launches and global expansion. The forces likely at play in 2024 include inflation, interest rates, and geopolitical dynamics such as the war in Ukraine and Gaza and the US election. However, I think the primary factor affecting language services in 2024 will likely be GenAI. There are two aspects to watch: first is the rate at which GenAI is adopted by companies and other entities who procure language services. In 2023, most companies have been experimenting across different departments and use cases. The speed at which GenAI becomes a part of the corporate tech stack and adopted into everyday work, bringing the expectation of doing more with less, will have a strong influence on how fast the forces of change are felt by localization departments and our industry. Second will be the new innovations in GenAI that are released next year by providers of large language models, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others. New capabilities will unlock new possibilities and use cases for GenAI to address, including for language services.