For many language professionals, there is a sentiment that AI is an inescapable reality, despite lingering apprehensions about some of the unethical implications of its use. However, forums that allow the candid discussion of these concerns are rare, especially given pervasive “AI hype”. The ecological consequences of AI use have been documented and discussed in some industry and academic arenas, but these are not the only consequences that warrant pause.

This webinar is intended to examine some of the perhaps lesser-known issues that AI raises and how these overlap or contrast with other technologies language professionals use regularly (e.g. other computer-assisted translation tools; social media). We explore these issues through the lens of professional practice, academic research, and translation education/pedagogy. Participants will be able to share their concerns and pose questions. We hope to enable professionals to make ethically informed decisions regarding AI integration. We will also offer some effective counterpoints to respond to clients and supervisors who wish to default to AI.

Webinar presenters:

Renée Desjardins (she/her), Ph.D., is an associate professor at the School of Translation at the Université de Saint-Boniface in Winnipeg (Treaty 1), Canada. Her areas of expertise are translation and social media, and more specifically, translation and the influencer and creator economies. She has received national and institutional funding for research in both these areas and has published on these topics in a number of peer-reviewed arenas, including The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, The Handbook of Translation Studies, as well as The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Media. She is the author of Translation and Social Media: in Theory, in Training and in Professional Practice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017).

Valérie Florentin (they/them) is an assistant professor at the Department of Global Communication and Cultures, York University, Glendon campus (Toronto, on a territory subject of the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant). Valérie’s recent research focuses on the intersection between pedagogy, technologies and social justice.