Jobs: artificial intelligence is expensive to translators

Artificial intelligence makes a hard life to a Quebec translator who has to work hard to maintain his standard of living. Meanwhile, while remuneration rates have drastically dropped in recent years because of the development of this new technology.

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“There has always been a poetic or artistic aspect to translation, in the effort to find the right word,” explains Vincent Houle, freelance translator from Quebec, attached on a terrace in Limoilou.

Cut into his momentum by the disproportionate roar of a motorcycle. In addition, the 32 -year -old man takes the opportunity to swallow a coffee sip.

“Today, this dimension has been lost a little,” he jobs: artificial intelligence expensive translators says, taking a look behind his shoulder. Nevertheless, “The work is more and more mechanical, repetitive, stressful …”

Moment ChatGPT

The use of artificial intelligence in translation does not date from yesterday. Nevertheless, and it’s been a long time since translators use software to complete their work.

However, the enthusiasm of companies for this technology, especially after the appearance of Chatgpt, came to change the situation.

Since then. “traditional” translation contracts are rare, and customers are more likely to initiate translators for “post-publishing”, that jobs: artificial intelligence expensive translators is to say the revision of translations made by the machine.

As if that was not enough, customers are now expecting work to be done more quickly, and for cheaper. “The remuneration rates for postering contracts have dropped from 20% to 30% since 2021,” said Houle.

“For freelancers like me, that means that you have to find more contracts to maintain the same standard of living.”

Endangered?

The idea of the possible disappearance of the profession of translator therefore seems far from being utopian. The University of Ottawa’s translation program has also been recently suspended. and that of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia was closed definitively.

The federal government even announced a few months ago its desire to abolish a quarter of the workforce of. the translation office in the coming years.

Despite everything. Vincent Houle remains optimistic, because he is convinced that the expertise of translators is today jobs: artificial intelligence expensive translators more necessary than ever, especially because of the problems caused by artificial intelligence.

“It is not uncommon to see artificial intelligence translate texts which are already translations of artificial intelligence. There is a kind of corruption that is done, and we are still moving away from the source, “he explains.

Dependence

The fate of translators is perhaps what awaits jobs: artificial intelligence expensive translators as many other workers in the coming years.

Indeed. data from the 2021 census already showed that three in five workers in Canada occupy jobs that have a “great risk of exposure to artificial intelligence technologies”.

Since then, our dependence on this kind of tool tends to accelerate. In the second quarter of 2025, 12.2% of companies said they used artificial intelligence in the last year to produce goods. provide services, while last year, this proportion was only 6.1%, according to a recent Statistics Canada study.

Jobs: artificial intelligence expensive translators

Sectors most affected by artificial intelligence

• Information and culture industry (35.6%)
• Professional, scientific and technical services (31.7%)
• Finance and insurance (30.6%)

Least affected sectors

• Accommodation and catering (1.5%)
• Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (1.8%)
• Transport and storage (1.8%)

Source: Statistics Canada, Analysis of the use of artificial intelligence by companies jobs: artificial intelligence expensive translators in Canada, second quarter of 2025.