We are well into 2024, which makes this a good time to take stock of what we learned about our changing world last year and what challenges we may face in the months and years ahead.
The interpreting profession in the U.S. is experiencing strong growth, with demand for interpreters expected to continue to increase in the coming years. This trend is being driven by a variety of factors, including the increasing globalization of businesses, the diversity of the growing population in the U.S., and the expanding need for interpreters in health care and education.
However, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is already having a significant impact on the T&I professions in the U.S. AI-powered machine translation (MT) is becoming increasingly sophisticated and today is able to translate languages with a higher degree of accuracy. Now interpreters are being impacted by AI as well. As a personal note, I believe that language professionals can benefit from AI if we learn how to use it to our advantage. We saw a strong interest in AI with an increased number of sessions during ATA’s Annual Conference in Miami last year. As with anything new, we saw hope and we also saw fear in many professionals who are not sure what to expect and what the impact of AI will have on our industry.
Despite these technical innovations that may be considered a challenge, the interpreting profession is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of interpreters and translators will grow by 4% from 2022 to 2032, about as fast as the average for all occupations. However, please note that this only applies to staff jobs and not to freelancers. Therefore, I would hazard a guess that growth will be greater for freelancers.
Overall, the future of the interpreting profession in the U.S. seems uncertain to many, although, in my opinion, the outlook is generally positive. Clearly, AI will play an increasingly important role in the language industry. Interpreters who can adapt to these changes and develop new skills will be well-positioned for success in the future.
Whether we like it or not, AI is here to stay. The Interpreters Division will continue working to give our members the latest news and provide accessible webinars on matters of importance to our profession. In the meantime, we wish you health and growth as we move ahead together.
-Christina Green is the Administrator of the ATA Interpreters Division
Artificial Intelligence robot circuit image by Kohji Asakawa from Pixabay
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Thank you for your note Christina.!
This is true that the need for interpreters is very strong in many settings and that the demand continues increasing. It is also true that interpreters need to embrace the change and get familiar with it in order to make informed decisions about our interpreting practice.
Thank you, Saul! It is worth saying that interpreters need to continue preparing and getting better. Nowadays, having a certification is only the beginning and not a goal. Thank you for all your work!