The Future of Translation in the Age of AI

On April 25, 2026, the China Translation Association held its annual conference at Wuhan University. The theme was “Integration and Breaking Barriers: The Infinite Possibilities of Translation in the Digital Intelligence Era,” co-hosted by the China Translation Association, Wuhan University, and the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration. Experts and scholars from various fields gathered to discuss the high-quality development of the translation industry amid the AI wave.

The conference released the “2026 China Translation Industry Development Report,” which indicated that in 2025, the Chinese translation industry maintained stability during structural adjustments, with a total annual output value of approximately 70.12 billion yuan. The number of operating translation companies and the quality of professionals showed steady growth, with the workforce reaching 6.867 million, 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 the global translation industry has transitioned from a period of uniform growth to a new stage characterized by differentiated stock and incremental reconstruction. International consulting agencies estimate that the global translation market size in 2025 will be approximately $59.53 billion, reflecting a 7% growth compared to the previous year. The Asian and European markets displayed strong growth momentum, with over 60% of overseas orders for Chinese translation companies coming from European clients. Academically, China leads globally in the production of translation research outcomes and the number of research institutions.

Currently, AI is empowering various industries. AI translation is widely applied, and the integration of translation technology has reached a deep fusion stage. According to the “2026 China Translation Industry Development Report,” by 2025, there will be 2,183 companies in China focusing on AI translation as their main business, and the human-machine collaborative translation model has become a basic consensus in the industry. The “2026 Global Translation Industry Development Report” indicates 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 Translation Association, stated during the report release that while AI translation and large language model technology upgrades are gaining 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 key demands, and human-machine collaboration has become the mainstream working model. Small and medium-sized language companies and independent practitioners face multiple operational pressures, making specialization and differentiation crucial for survival under the drive of multimodal technology.

“Currently, AI technology is profoundly reshaping the global language service and cultural dissemination 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 to cross-language communication and improved efficiency in going global, the internationalization process of China’s cultural “new three samples”—represented by online literature, web dramas, and online games—still faces common challenges such as data security and compliance, cultural bias, and balancing quality and cost. She believes that all parties in the industry chain should adopt differentiated, precise, and collaborative development strategies to jointly solve the challenges of going global and enhance internationalization 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 enterprises involved in the “new three samples” and scholars from Wuhan University engaged in a roundtable dialogue, focusing on cross-cultural narratives and new paradigms of translation. They interpreted the connotations and contemporary value of Jingchu culture and discussed how to leverage Yangtze culture as a bond to strengthen the cultural export in the digital age.

Culture is the soul of translation work. Translation requires not only 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 compared to human translators in understanding context and achieving the “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance” of output. Looking to the future, there is a need for a new ecosystem of multilingual AI translation built collaboratively by humans and machines.

“The iteration of technology, especially the development of AI, provides us with significant opportunities to enhance our work and expand the boundaries of translation,” said Guillaume de Nerfberg, president of the International Federation of Translators, in a video address. He emphasized that under the AI wave, the value of translation will not diminish; rather, its importance will become more pronounced, and the demands on translators will be higher than ever. We need professional language workers more than ever.