The Future of Translation in the Age of AI

On April 25, 2026, the China Translators Association Annual Conference opened at Wuhan University, Hubei. The theme of the conference was “Integration and Breaking Boundaries: The Infinite Possibilities of Translation in the Digital Age,” co-hosted by the China Translators Association, Wuhan University, and the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration. Experts and scholars from the industry and academia gathered to discuss the high-quality development of the translation industry in the wave of artificial intelligence.

The conference released the “2026 China Translation Industry Development Report,” which indicated that in 2025, the Chinese translation industry maintained basic stability during scale adjustments, with a total annual output value of approximately 70.12 billion yuan. The number of operating translation companies and the quality of practitioners showed steady growth, reaching 6.867 million practitioners, including 1.135 million full-time translators.

Civilization is enriched through communication and mutual learning. The “2026 Global Translation Industry Development Report” released on the same day showed that in 2025, the global translation industry moved away from the “universal growth era” into a new phase characterized by stock differentiation and incremental reconstruction. International consulting agencies estimated the global translation market size in 2025 to be $59.53 billion, a 7.0% increase from the previous year. The Asian and European markets exhibited strong growth momentum, with over 60% of overseas orders for Chinese translation companies coming from European clients. In academia, China leads globally in the output of translation research results and the number of research institutions.

Currently, artificial intelligence is empowering various industries. AI translation is widely applied, and the integration of translation technology has entered a deep fusion stage. According to the “2026 China Translation Industry Development Report,” the number of companies in China focusing on AI translation reached 2,183 in 2025, with the human-machine collaborative translation model becoming a basic consensus in the industry. The “2026 Global Translation Industry Development Report” indicated a significant increase in the application rate of AI translation and large language models, making them mainstream tools in the translation industry. A 2025 survey of the European language industry showed that 60% of respondents had used AI translation, with language service providers reaching 80%.

Wang Gangyi, former deputy director of the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration and executive vice president of the China Translators Association, stated during the report release that while the upgrade of AI translation and large language model technology has drawn increasing attention from the industry and capital, there are still significant shortcomings in language coverage, accuracy, emotional understanding, and expression. Skills in AI-related capabilities and professional domain knowledge are critical demands. Human-machine collaboration has become the mainstream working model in the industry, while small and medium-sized language companies and independent practitioners face multiple operational pressures. Under the drive of multimodal technology, specialization and differentiation have become key survival paths.

“Currently, AI technology is profoundly reshaping the global language service and cultural communication landscape,” said Wang Lu, director of the Film Translation Production Center of the China Central Radio and Television, during the release of the “Research Report on AI Translation and the Internationalization of China’s ‘New Three Samples.’” She acknowledged that while AI translation has significantly lowered the barriers for cross-language communication and improved efficiency, the internationalization process of China’s cultural “new three samples”—represented by online literature, online films, and online games—still faces common challenges such as data security and compliance, cultural bias, and the balance of quality and cost. She believes that all parties in the industry chain should adopt differentiated, precise, and collaborative development strategies to jointly tackle the challenges of internationalization and enhance effectiveness.

In a special exchange on the communication and mutual learning of Yangtze River civilization and the international dissemination of Jingchu culture, representatives from emerging companies involved in the internationalization of the “new three samples” engaged in a roundtable dialogue with scholars from Wuhan University, focusing on cross-cultural narratives and new paradigms of translation. They discussed the connotation and contemporary value of Jingchu culture and how to leverage Yangtze culture as a link to strengthen cultural export in the digital age.

Culture is the soul of translation work. Translation must not only have depth of thought but also a humanistic warmth. According to Wang Wei, vice president of iFlytek Co., Ltd., while machine translation can convey information relatively completely, it still falls short of human translators’ understanding of context and the output of “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance.” Looking to the future, a new ecosystem of multilingual AI translation needs to be co-built by humans and machines.

“The iteration of technology, especially the development of artificial intelligence, provides us with significant opportunities to enhance our work, strengthen our capabilities, and continuously expand the boundaries of translation work,” said Guillaume de Nerfberg, president of the International Federation of Translators, in a video address. He emphasized that under the wave of artificial intelligence, the value of translation will not diminish; rather, its importance will become more pronounced, raising the requirements for translation professionals. We need skilled language workers more than ever.