Language Industry 4.0 is our identity project created so as to promote the knowledge and dissemination of new digital technologies and artificial intelligence (machine learning, neural networks, etc.) in the translation and language services industry, collectively known as the language industry.
Like all industries, the world of translation has been hit in recent years by exponential technological development that is revolutionizing its present and will shape its future. We are indeed talking about Language Industry 4.0, a sector in which digital transformation and computerization are driving change.
True to our calling as an innovative company, we have been embracing and facilitating change since the earliest days, when the concept of digital transition was still a long way off. We have always devoted time, resources and energy to developing more and more advanced technological solutions to accompany the evolution and bring the world of translation into the future.
Technologies for the language industry today are expressed in a plethora of tools and instruments in Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, MT (Machine Translation) and Neural Networks, Big Data, Corpora and Analytics. Beyond the scope of mere production, they include systems and architectures for cloud computing, process automation (workflow automation), integration and convergence, cyber security and business continuity, as well as portals for e-commerce, mobile, cashless or web-based payment systems, elements of blockchain and fintech.
In developing our arsenal of technologies, we wanted to respond to two major challenges: to dispel the dystopian scaremongering of artificial intelligence replacing the translator, and to nurture confidence in a new digital humanism, which understands technology as a mere extension of human talent.
At Way2Global, we believe that the digital transition represents added value not only for our business, but also for all our stakeholders, clients and translators first and foremost.
In fact, technology enables translations to be done more quickly, in keeping with the needs of an increasingly fast-paced market. But the use of new digital tools is also a great opportunity for professional growth for all linguists working in the world of translation. Indeed, acquiring the digital skills that are essential today enables translators to diversify and enhance their specialized writing and translation skills.
While the use of tools such as artificial intelligence greatly reduces translation time, it is the translator’s work of revision that must remain the guarantor of the final product’s quality.
It is clear that the combination of human talent plus digital technologies, if properly managed, can turn into benefits for all, not only from an economic standpoint, but also and especially from a social point of view.
Translations, artificial intelligence and social impact
At Way2Global, we understand technology as a means of bringing about change, innovation and social impact.
Our vision of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is based on the democratization of technologies and the concept of participatory co-design, to generate added value for the benefit of all stakeholders, solve the digital divide, and help establish new inclusive business models, innovative industrial policies and a new work ethos.
As a digital native start-up and fervent Benefit Corporation, we are deeply convinced that it is possible, as well as necessary, to use technological innovation, artificial intelligence and digital tools as a lever of social impact to develop talent, starting with disadvantaged groups (youth and women).
This is why all our research projects are designed with Capacity Building, Open Innovation, Technology Transfer and Open Education in mind.
The desire to innovate and promote the evolution of the world of translation with new artificial intelligence tools and other frontier digital tools is the driver that inspires us to initiate partnerships and ambitious R&D projects with academia and centres of research and technological excellence.
But the purpose of the continuity we routinely reserve for investments in innovation and new technologies is to create virtual and/or augmented work environments, democratized work platforms, networks based on total resource sharing, as well as inclusive translation ecosystems that benefit people.
Building and nurturing relationships with our community is our focus, because we believe in integration, inclusion and cohesive companies. It is our desire to share knowledge and expertise that leads us to don the robes of facilitators for technology and artificial intelligence in the translation industry.
We are aware that the ongoing Copernican revolution brings with it a radical subversion of organizations and businesses, where it will be the combination of people and information that becomes the measure of business value (data-driven, people-centric).
For us, IT, artificial intelligence and digitization are enablers of scalability and technological innovation, but also and especially of social innovation, capable of ensuring new standards of power, efficiency and simplicity.
Promoting digital culture means providing people and work teams with new resources and tools that fuel experimentation, innovation and exponential growth. For us, digitizing ultimately means using our empowerment to push the boundaries, beyond our comfort zone, and anticipating change in order to produce a sustainable future.
