An empirical investigation on machine interpreting has so far mostly been conducted within the framework of computer science, for instance with the goal of improving the current widely used cascading approach to speech-to-speech translation, or of exploring the potential of end-to-end systems. So far, investigations have been technology-centered and evaluation has been conducted with the goal of measuring improvements over time and development cycles.
What is still missing is a communicative approach to the analysis and evaluation of machine interpreting as an agent of multilingual communication. The project has at least three broad areas of interest:
- Evaluating machine interpreting in real interactions between humans
- Understanding the societal impacts of machine interpreting
- Analyzing how MI and in general AI may influence the work environment of professional interpreters
These are the areas that we want to cover with our project.
The project is funded by the Mainzer Inneruniversitäre Forschungsförderung