Quality multilingual communication requires specific professional skills, linguistic judgment, ethical responsibility, and a deep understanding of the context in which communication takes place. At ADICA, we consider it essential to reflect on these elements in order to preserve and strengthen professional standards in interpreting.
In recent years, the development of automated interpreting tools based on artificial intelligence has generated growing interest — as well as questions — regarding their capabilities and limitations compared with human interpreting performed by language professionals.
Recent tests, including experimental comparisons conducted with general-purpose automatic translation devices, as well as assessments carried out by international organizations such as the World Health Organization and the Council of Europe, clearly show that while these technologies can be useful in informal settings or situations involving low communicative complexity, human interpreting offers structural advantages in contexts that require accuracy, immediacy, and a deep understanding of the discourse.
Professional interpreting is not limited to linguistic conversion. It involves the simultaneous management of meaning, intent, register, cultural nuances, discourse coherence, and situational context, as well as the ability to make real-time decisions when faced with ambiguities, interruptions, changes in the original message, and even silences. These elements remain essential in institutional, legal, medical, diplomatic, and academic settings, where the margin for error is minimal and the consequences can be significant.
Automated solutions, for their part, continue to rely on intermediate processes — such as speech recognition, segmentation, reformulation, and synthesis — which can lead to delays in communication, potential information loss, terminological confusion, and difficulties in handling non-standardized or emotionally charged speech.
At ADICA, we believe that technological development can and should be examined rigorously, without oversimplifications or false dichotomies. Artificial intelligence is an evolving tool that can complement certain forms of communication, but it does not replace the professional judgment, ethical responsibility, commitment to confidentiality, or comprehensive expertise provided by a properly trained human interpreter.
Promoting an informed understanding of these differences is part of our commitment to the profession, communication quality, and ongoing professional development.