Please keep in mind that new technology like Generative AI (Gen AI) shouldn’t simply make your thinking or work easier, much less take the place of the uniquely singular abilities of human beings to grow cognitively, think creatively, or evaluate critically. If you use Gen AI to simply avoid work, you are doing it wrong. Instead, using Gen AI in the spirit of Douglas Engelbart’s “augmenting human intelligence” and Donna Haraway’s configuration of the cyborg point the way to beneficial heightening of human possibility instead of harmful erasure of the cognitive distinctions of humanity. If you use Gen AI, use it wisely and use it well. This post is the sixth in this series.
Science fiction often features devices that break language barriers, such as Douglas Adams’ Babel Fish in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979) or Star Trek’s popularization of the SF concept of a universal translator. AI translation tools bring this concept closer to reality. While not perfect, AI can translate texts, helping students communicate across languages and access knowledge written in languages that they don’t know. However, the concerns about Gen AI accuracy holds even more so when translating texts from one language to another, which might produce inaccuracies in terms of phrasing, thought, and facts.
Gen AI can serve as a bridge for students working with or writing about multilingual sources, offering translations that facilitate understanding. While these translations may not always capture the subtleties of idioms or cultural context, they can open a world of ideas and provide a foundation for further exploration.
For instance, a student researching a Spanish-language novel could use Gen AI to translate key passages, then analyze how the original language contributes to the text’s tone and meaning.
For language learners, Gen AI translation can help students understand troublesome passages in readings or translate their native language writing into the language that they are learning. In both cases, students should use this as an aid for learning and not a plagiarism tool.
While Gen AI translations are not perfect, they open doors to global perspectives and ideas.
Students should use these tools with awareness of their limitations, supplementing Gen AI translations with human expertise when possible.
