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Translating fiction: a moral case for AI?
ANDY MIAH advocates the use of AI to assist people by expanding access to global literature and culture
FOREVER BEYOND AI? Garcia Marquez mural in Aracataca, Columbia: “Wherever I am in the world I am Latin American, but I always feel nostalgia for my homeland, Aracataca; and when I come back I find - in between nostalgia and reality - the raw material of my work.” [Tim Buendia/CC]

NEWS that Dutch publishing house Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK) has confirmed plans to experiment using AI to translate fiction has stirred up a thought-provoking debate.

Some believe it marks the beginning of the end for human translators, while others see this as the opening up of a new world of possibilities to bring more literature to even more people. These arguments are becoming increasingly vocal as the advance of AI accelerates at an ever-increasing rate.

Fiction translation, with its intricate language, emotional undertones and nuances, has traditionally been the domain of skilled human translators.

YET TO BE TOLD: A group of Pygmy men from Nala (Haut-Uele, northeastern Congo) posing with bows and arrows (c. 1915). Credit: Public domain
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