Why Does AI Struggle With Nuance?
Why does AI struggle with nuance? I was in the process of translating a book from Russian into English when the client wrote and said that he had run my…
What is AI slop? Machines Can Generate Words, But Only Humans Can Give Birth to Language
What is AI slop? When I share something with another person, I almost always sense whether I have truly been understood. If someone responds too quickly or with too many…
Can Machines Truly Understand? Language as Living Energy
Can machines truly understand? A client recently contacted me as an interpreter and said, “It’s critically important for me not just to convey the words literally, but to preserve the…
The Hidden Psychology of Interpreting That AI Will Never Replace
What will AI never replace? As an ATA-certified Russian translator and interpreter, I get to meet many people—and learn a great deal about the psychology of interpreting. What do people…
How is AI Affecting Language and Human Ability to Connect?
How is AI affecting language? "To reduce language to information is to flatten out the miracle of understanding." — George Steiner, After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translation (1975) George…
A Good Metaphor for AI? Hans Christian Andersen’s The Princess and the Pea
What is a good metaphor for AI? Hans Christian Andersen is a genius in his ability to capture absolute metaphors — striking comparisons that cannot be easily interpreted in multiple…
What is Language in C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength?
What is language? Have you ever met Language herself? I bet you have. This is how C.S. Lewis described the descent of Mercury in That Hideous Strength: “This was Language herself,…
What is the Major Problem of AI?
What is the major problem of AI? Well, life is full of metaphors. Who would have thought that there’s a connection between nutrition and AI? I was listening to a…
What is the Biggest Problem with AI?
What is the biggest problem with AI? Recently, three clients approached me with a request to write something for them, emphasizing that they had “zero tolerance for AI” in their…
Can AI Teach Languages? The Difference Between a Model and True Communication
True words do not exist without a body. Can AI teach languages? Amid all the hype around AI, when I heard about plans to use AI models to teach children…