brA.I.n, dumped(?). 1 of 3.
Has software—which we laughed so hard at for so many years*—already called time on the proofreading profession?
I come from a land of dark humor. “Back home”, when someone has a serious medical condition it’s not uncommon for them to sum up their predicament as, “The doctors say I should think twice before buying a new pair of shoes”.
The “proofreading world” is changing.
Is it worthwhile my buying a new red corrector's pencil?
“They love me; they love me not”
Wikipedia tells us that the childhood game He Loves Me; He Loves Me Not (or She Loves Me; She Loves Me Not) is of French origin.
In the game, players repeat the two phrases alternately while removing the petals of a flower, typically a daisy, in order to ascertain whether the object of their affection shares that affection.
It’s a game I’ve been, unconsciously, playing for a little while now. Probably like quite a few proofreaders.
“Everything's gonna be alright”
When “generative” AI begins taking huge bounds forward, a handful of academic institutions are first out of the blocks with their positions. One writes that ChatGPT creates “highly plausible fiction that oftentimes happens to be factually correct”.
There. That’s it. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to see here.
I think we can safely say, “They Love Me”.
"It ain’t over till… Oh. Where did everybody go?"
A very experienced translation professional posts on a networking platform that he will no longer post any tips on the subject of translation and that he has taken down all such material from his website.
“It is”, he writes, “over.”
Adding that anyone who tells early-career translators to concentrate on niche markets such as sport is just cruelly, unnecessarily prolonging the agony.
I can’t, honestly, disagree. And suspect that proofreading may not be far behind.
"No, they (still) love me!"
“No AI can do this, and no AI will EVER be able to do this! And you can quote me.”
I say thank you. I’m always happy when clients get more than they expect. Even happier when they actually realize it. When they actually say so, I do a little Thelonius Monk dance. On my own. In my office. Maybe with a puzzled cat. And I like this young man. And we’ve worked a lot together.
It’s very nice to say this.
I am reassured.
(But “Forever”, sings The Modfather, “seems a long time”.)
"From 'plausible fiction' to 'good for proofreading'"
I go back to re-read the position of the academic institution; the one about ChatGPT creating “plausible fiction”.
But it appears to have been taken down and replaced with much broader, deeper guidance, which includes, “use it for tasks such as proofreading”.
That’s a big “They Love Me Not”. Thanks for that. When we learn that AI trumps research institutes for… research, I’ll be right behind you. You can count on it.
"A dollar for the chalk—$9,999 for knowing where to put the cross"**
I work on a paper. At its heart is a strict understanding of a supranational organization and of the way in which its decisions become enforceable national law.
The authors have been a little loose with their descriptions of these processes. This is not uncommon when one knows the subject matter as well as they obviously do. I identify potential ambiguities and inaccuracies, and together we fix them.
Can AI do this already? Will it ever be able to? I suspect it can’t. Yet. So, there’s still some “love” out there.
* Remember all those G**gle Translate signs at hotel receptions?
** If you don’t know this story, there’s more on it here, at Smithsonian Magazine.
[Illustration: The Dodo (Raphus Cucullatus), with the kind permission of Lionel Portier.
Graphic designer, illustrator, cartoonist, lecturer, and cartographer, Lionel Portier has practiced these multiple disciplines under many latitudes and longitudes. Born in France, he studied in the United States and in Belgium before moving on to Africa, Asia, South America, Australia, and Russia—all places that he traversed, then stopped to live in.
After 40 years of exile, he finally returned to his centuries-old family roots on what he refers to as “the blessed shores of Lake Geneva”. Collaborating with major press titles around the world has allowed him to develop a range of skills and techniques that he now passes on as a graphic arts lecturer, mastering a graphic language in which the form serves the substance, and where the substance enlightens the mind. As Lionel says, “Quite a challenge in this mad world...”.
Thanks Lionel!
