Will interpreters be replaced by technology? 

What is the future of interpretation? Will interpreters be replaced by technology? These are all increasingly common questions in an industry experiencing a flow of technology-based platforms. 

Remote simultaneous interpretation is a technical leap for the interpreter services industry. But the technology is not going to replace interpreters. Some innovations completely change the fundamentals of the way an activity is conducted. Take the many inventions that came out of the Industrial Revolution, for example. Machines were able to conduct work that had previously relied on manpower, at a fraction of the speed and cost - making whole professions redundant. 

The future of interpretation is an evolution, not a revolution. 

Remote Simultaneous Interpretation and video interpreting is an evolution of the systems that facilitate remote interpretation. We are convinced that  Interpreters will not become obsolete with Remote Interpretation technology,  nor will onsite interpreting disappear. However, there will be a gradual shift towards a wider adoption of remote simultaneous interpretation, and we will see interpreters embracing new technology (not being replaced by it) to diversify and remain up-to-speed in the race for interesting assignments. 

Avoiding or limiting the need for booths and heavy audio equipment saves costs. Basic economics dictates that because the total costs of interpreting will decrease, demand will increase. Organisers of small events, who could otherwise never afford interpreting, will start using the service. 

RSI also benefits interpreters themselves. They can work from anywhere, no longer need to travel to remote venues on unpaid time, and can spend their working hours more efficiently. 

The English luddites destroyed weaving machinery as a form of protest in the 19th century and protested the use of machinery in a "fraudulent and deceitful manner" to get around standard labour practices. As we know the protest was futile and new technology was introduced. History shows many similar examples: coachmen lost their jobs to the railroad, telephones made errand boys obsolete, Spotify and Netflix reduced/stopped the distribution of CDs and DVDs, and the list goes on. 

We, at Interprefy, believe that this will not be the case for the future of interpretation. We will not see technology replacing interpreters - they will always be needed. But customers will want to use technology, because it is available, dependable and opens up the market. 

 In April 2018 at the SCIC Conference in Brussels, a real time survey was carried out among the participants. One of the questions was: Will RSI lead to more or less interpreting work? It was a great pleasure to see that a large majority of the participating academics and EU staff share our opinion that RSI will lead to more interpreting. 

Many interpreters fear RSI and see the technology as a threat to the future of interpretation. Will interpreters be replaced by technology? is a question often asked.

The late interpreting technology pioneer Bill Woods gave the answer in 2011 at a panel discussion. As he put it: "Interpreters will not be replaced by technology, but by interpreters using technology." At the GALA Conference in Amsterdam we discussed business opportunities with the President of DS-Interpretation, Naomi Bowman, the daughter of Bill. Watch the video below. 

RSI is not a new concept. Several companies tried to introduce platforms in the early 2000s, but slow internet connections made them unreliable and frustrating to use, and interpreters quickly became disillusioned. Since then, faster internet and cloud computing have given RSI providers the tools to make remote interpreting dependable, including high-resolution video streams of the event in real time.