Translate Feature: Is the 'Google' Using AI or What?

DMB · 2024-12-17T18:49:27+00:00

There was an error rendering this rich post.

Actually, I was just wondering if the AI-O-Meter would appear (using Translate). So far, it's hiding.

But that caused me to play around with Translate. I was in Bezae/latin (image below), and the provided translations were strange … giving up halfway thru a 'verse' (creating a sentence on its own and dumping the rest), or just flailing away (the example below).

So, I clicked on Google (bottom of panel) and it popped me over to the Google translator (second image below). Excellent translation.

I get the feeling, the Logos version is using AI instead of a normal translator? Or maybe just the opposite.

Screenshot 2024-12-17 at 11.40.05 AM.png

Screenshot 2024-12-17 at 11.38.15 AM.png

Find more posts tagged with

Community

Comments

MJ. Smith

That looks to me like the normal google translate before the chat-bot explosion. I've always thought of NLP (Natural language processing) as a form of AI so I'm not sure what you are asking.

Frank Sauer

I just tested using Translate and after the first use the AI meter did show up next to the Sync icon - I'm running 38.1

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1349636#Comment_1349636

Hmmm … I'm on 36.1. Maybe it's free for me (joking).

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1349631#Comment_1349631

Well, in the first place I'm not sure which is better per se'. I had envisioned Translate, when introduced, as good for German commentaries, etc … where translation isn't critical. But now, in the Bezae/latin case:

The 'Logos'/google version didn't know locations and instead tried to associate to a literal incorrect reading. The verse above the one copied, it cut off, after it satisfied a syntactical sentence (in latin). The remainder was simply ignored.
The web/google (sent to by Logos) did know the location conversions. I'd assume it's by pattern matching, and since the conversion is not 'common knowledge', it's doing it thru training (eg neurals, ergo 'AI').

Where the question comes from, is if one (me) were not conversant with latin and wanted to use Translate for a good translation (Biblical fragments, partials, church fathers), I'm not sure the Logos/google translation would know what to do. But a pattern matching (web/google) would seem to be even worse (would not catch key variants in the latin > english).

Frank Sauer

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1349640#Comment_1349640

LOL - wouldn't be surprising

Frank Sauer

I did just notice that the meter is no longer visible - not sure how long it remained visible.

MJ. Smith

@DMB

Where the question comes from, is if one (me) were not conversant with latin and wanted to use Translate for a good translation (Biblical fragments, partials, church fathers), I'm not sure the Logos/google translation would know what to do. But a pattern matching (web/google) would seem to be even worse (would not catch key variants in the latin > english).

I saw a silly article recently that indicate AI would match humans' intelligence in 5 years based on the definition that when a computer could translate as well as a human …blah blah blah. I think news should use sources in the trenches not in PR. This is what I could find on the online free Google translate:

The Pros
Google Translate is free. An experienced professional translator can sometimes be costly, but remember you get what you pay for.
Google Translate is quick. One of the main advantages of Google Translate is that it is very fast. In fact, a human translator(s) cannot compete with the speed nor, as a result, the quantity of translations that Google Translate is able to perform. In an average workday an experienced translator can translate about 2,000 words maximum (300-400 words/hour) depending on the difficulty of the text. In contrast, Google Translate is able to produce a translation with the same number of words in just seconds!
Google Translate uses a statistical method to form an online translation database based on language pair frequency. Google Translate uses a statistical approach to build an online database for translations that are often (but not always) produced by humans and are available online.

The Cons
Cons
With Google Translate the meaning can be “lost in translation” because there is no way to incorporate context. The complexity of the text, as well as any context which cannot be interpreted without a true knowledge of the language, makes the likelihood of errors greater. Direct translation is common with Google Translate and often results in nonsensical literal translations while professional translators take great pains to ensure that this does not happen by using well-established online glossaries, back translation methods, proof readers and reviewers.
The quality of translation is dependent on the language pair. Which source and target languages are involved also affects the quality of the translation. Since Google’s web-based translation database is built primarily from existing online translations, common translations for languages e.g. Spanish or English tend to be more accurate while translations for other languages that are not as available in Google’s database are less likely to be accurate.
Google Translate often produces translations that contain significant grammatical errors. This is due to the fact that Google’s translation system uses a method based on language pair frequency that does not take into account grammatical rules.
Google Translate does not have a system to correct for translation errors. There is no way of reporting errors in order to avoid having them repeated, nor is there a way to proof read what has been translated unless one is fluent in both the source and the target language.

However, I also found a very brief description of the difference between the paid product and the free product:

Google's free online translation service, called Google Translate, is similar to paid translation services. While Google Translate is quick and provides instant results, it may not be as accurate or professional as a paid translator

Not an answer but an indication that your thinking is in the right direction.

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1349649#Comment_1349649

The change notes indicated it "disappeared" on the date your credits are renewed and will appear after the first AI use.

Frank Sauer

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1349652#Comment_1349652

Weird, as I rarely if ever use Translate - but the meter appeared with a note that it refills today - then as I said it disappeared at some point….

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1349650#Comment_1349650

Appreciate the digging; language pairs would explain the location equivalents. Since I guess I get credits (Logos/Google), I think I'll spend some time on the African fathers in latin. See what the pattern is.