Pedro Duarte

According to a recent study by OpenAI, Open Research, and the University of Pennsylvania, large language models (LLMs) based on artificial intelligence (AI), such as generative pretrained transformers (GPTs), may have potential implications for the job market, specifically regarding occupations that demand writing or programming skills. This research points out that interpreters and translators are one of the main occupations with greater exposure to AI in the US job market (76.5%), in a trend that is expected to affect other regions of the globe. This article, following a mixed-methods survey-based research approach, provides insights into the awareness and knowledge about AI among Portuguese language service providers (LSPs), specifically regarding neural machine translation (NMT) and large language models (LLM), their actual use and usefulness, as well as their potential influence on work performance and the labour market. The results show that most professionals are unable to identify whether AI and/or automation technologies support the tools that are most used in the profession. The usefulness of AI is essentially low to moderate and the professionals who are less familiar with it and less knowledgeable also demonstrate a lack of trust in it. Two thirds of the sample estimate negative or very negative effects of AI in their profession, expressing the devaluation and replacement of experts, the reduction of income, and the reconfiguration of the career of translator to mere post-editors as major concerns.

According to a recent study by OpenAI, Open Research, and the University of Pennsylvania, large language models (LLMs) based on artificial intelligence (AI), such as Generative Pretrained Transformers (GPTs), may have potential implications on the job market, specifically regarding job occupations that demand writing or programming skills. The research points out Interpreters and Translators as one of the main job occupations with greater exposure to AI in the US job market (76.5%). This article, following a mixed-methods survey-based research, provides insights into the Portuguese Language Service Providers (LSPs) awareness and knowledge about AI, specifically regarding neural machine translation (NMT) and large language models (LLM), its actual use and usefulness, as well as their potential influence on work performance and labour market. The results show that most professionals are unable to identify if AI and/or automation technologies support the tools that are most used in the profession. The usefulness of AI is essentially low to moderate and the professionals who are less familiar with it and less knowledgeable also demonstrate lack of trust in it. Two thirds of the sample estimate negative or very negative effects of AI in the profession, expressing as main concerns the devaluation and replacement of experts, the reduction of income, and the reconfiguration of the career of translator to mere post-editors.