Huge Artificial Intelligence project doing the rounds Thread poster: Julie Barber
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Julie Barber 
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:41
French to English
I wanted to draw attention to a very large project being offered to multiple translators. It consists of translating text style sentences and providing a second alternative translation. The work is completed on an online platform.
It came to my attention via several providers offering identical work that this is for a major Artificial Intelligence project.
I wanted to make other translators aware because they might not be comfortable contributing towards a project with... See more I wanted to draw attention to a very large project being offered to multiple translators. It consists of translating text style sentences and providing a second alternative translation. The work is completed on an online platform.
It came to my attention via several providers offering identical work that this is for a major Artificial Intelligence project.
I wanted to make other translators aware because they might not be comfortable contributing towards a project with the aim of improving machine translation.
It is a HUGE project which make me wonder who the project is for i.e Google or another internet provider.
One company who approached me was upfront about the nature of the project, other companies aren't. ▲ Collapse
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:41
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Do not collaborate | Apr 8, 2021 |
I would urge colleagues to refuse this work.
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Julie Barber
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:41
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Tom in London wrote:
I would urge colleagues to refuse this work.
I totally agree Tom. I was initially unaware of what the project was for. I have recently learnt that MANY translators have been enrolled to work on it. Additionally, the pay is low which means that unsuspecting translators are working put us out of a job and for low pay!
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Julie Barber
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:41
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Yes that is the one Teresa. Personally, I don't think that it is a scam as such, I think that one agency in particular has just lost control of what they are doing due to working with such a high number of translators. Those are my thoughts, but could be wrong.
But people should definitely be made aware of what the project is for!
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I was contacted some months ago by a Spanish agency for this project. I refused because like you I’m not comfortable contributing towards improving machine translation. I think this started out as a legitimate project but due to its huge volume there are so many agencies and outsourced teams involved that at the end someone will inevitably get scammed.
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Julie Barber
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:41
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Teresa Borges wrote:
I was contacted some months ago by a Spanish agency for this project. I refused because like you I’m not comfortable contributing towards improving machine translation. I think this started out as a legitimate project but due to its huge volume there are so many agencies and outsourced teams involved that at the end someone will inevitably get scammed.
One agency said - if it's actually true - that they are working with 6,000 translators on the project (and have lost their reputation in the process). A poisoned chalice for all concerned, especially translators!!
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Sadek_A
Local time: 18:41
English to Arabic
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Tom in London wrote:
I would urge colleagues to refuse this work.
And any other similar MT-enhancing work, unless paid at least 3 times the translation rate.
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| Do look at the other thread, if you haven't seen it | Apr 8, 2021 |
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Julie. I've been following the other thread with interest.
For those who haven't seen the previous thread, I think it bears reiterating that numerous translators have reported that the agencies concerned either didn't pay them for their work and/or "disappeared" when they had finished their work, or imposed arbitrary penalties for unexplained quality issues. So it appears that translators ended up with either no money, or less than what the... See more Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Julie. I've been following the other thread with interest.
For those who haven't seen the previous thread, I think it bears reiterating that numerous translators have reported that the agencies concerned either didn't pay them for their work and/or "disappeared" when they had finished their work, or imposed arbitrary penalties for unexplained quality issues. So it appears that translators ended up with either no money, or less than what they had bargained for - and they were starting from a very low base, by all accounts.
And all that is quite apart from the question of what the whole thing is for and whether the machine that's being trained will be used for good or for ill. ▲ Collapse
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Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 09:41
Japanese to English
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I was approached by a China-based agency to work on this type of project for Japanese-to-English. I asked them what "alternative translation meant". After all, "the boy chased the dog" really yields no alternative translation. I never heard from them again.
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Sadek_A
Local time: 18:41
English to Arabic
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Michael Newton wrote:
After all, "the boy chased the dog" really yields no alternative translation.
There are several alternatives, and it's exactly what they (all producers of that product) need to build the network of links for better recognition by the machine:
- The boy ran after/followed/tailed/etc. the dog.
- The dog was chased/etc. by the boy.
- The dog (after) which the boy ran/etc.
The machine doesn't know what it doesn't know, it imitates but doesn't create. The more sound data they're feeding the machine, the better the machine gets. And, that's why, in the book of any competent translator, sound data must be compensated VERY VERY well.
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jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 09:41
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| A possible outcome | Apr 11, 2021 |
If you work with this kind of project (if it is truly for machine training), you may end up making a couple hundred dollars and then become jobless for good. The agency that hires you may end up making a couple million dollars and close their business for good.
Period.
[Edited at 2021-04-11 10:49 GMT]
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Julie Barber
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:41
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
jyuan_us wrote:
If you work with this kind of project (if it is truly for machine training), you may end up making a couple hundred dollars and then become jobless for good. The agency that hires you may end up making a couple million dollars and close their business for good.
Period.
[Edited at 2021-04-11 10:49 GMT]
I fully agree. An agency involved with this project and recently found itself banned from the Blueboard suddenly has lots of good reviews. They are writing to translators to request reviews in exchange for providing reviews for the translator.
I am quite sure that a lot of the translators who have worked on the project will not realise what it is for.
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| Things are getting tougher | Apr 13, 2021 |
Those companies or agencies doing such things try to trick translators as long as their purpose is not exposed.Ridiculous.
[Edited at 2021-04-13 08:21 GMT]
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Julie Barber
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:41
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Hailemichael Melaku wrote:
Those companies or agencies doing such things try to trick translators as long as their purpose is not exposed.Ridiculous.
[Edited at 2021-04-13 08:21 GMT]
yes it's true and it's good to expose what the projects are actually for, and then translators can make their own informed choice from that point
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