The 7th edition of TranslateCluj brought together language professionals from around the world to explore AI's true impact on the translation industry. Here's what we learned.
Setting the Stage: Beyond AI Hype
When we began planning our 7th conference, we started with a challenging question: what happens when we strip AI of all its hype? Rather than accepting sensationalist predictions about the end of human work, the conference aimed to explore how language professionals can adapt, integrate, and thrive in this new technological landscape.
As stated in the conference introduction, the goal was to "take a deeper dive into what these new technologies, dubbed as AI, really are, how they work, and how language professionals, regardless of their background and skills, can benefit from them."
Redefining the Language Industry in the AI Era
The Evolving AI Landscape
Keynote speaker Richard Brooks, delivered a thought-provoking presentation on "Harnessing AI for Language Service Providers: Beyond Translation."
Richard explored the progressive "ages" of AI development:
- The Age of the Prompt (where we are now)
- The Age of the Agent (emerging)
- The Age of the Collaborator
- The Age of the Advisor
- The Age of the Architect
He emphasized that despite rapid advancements, AI systems still have significant limitations, particularly linguistic biases. "90% of the internet is in most LLMs, but only 1% of enterprise data is," Richard noted, highlighting that most AI training data is in English – creating both challenges and opportunities for language professionals.
Perhaps most memorable was his observation that "technology is moving faster than it ever has but slower than it ever will," suggesting that continuous adaptation isn't just beneficial – it's essential.
AI in Action: Practical Applications
Radu Orghidan, Global SVP of Data & AI Strategy at Endava, demonstrated how AI can transform lead generation for translation businesses. His presentation walked through the evolution from basic chatbots to sophisticated multi-agent systems that can help identify potential clients and automate administrative tasks.
During a compelling live demonstration, Radu showed how AI tools can analyze market segments, create prospect lists, and even draft personalized outreach messages – all while maintaining the human touch that relationship-building requires.
AI-Enhanced Tools: The Technical Side
Cătălina Bărbat, Director of Engineering at RWS, presented "AI in Trados," showcasing how AI is being integrated into the tools translators use daily. The presentation highlighted Smart Review and Generative Translation features that leverage AI while keeping the linguist central to the process.
"Linguists are the guardians of brand voice and quality," Cătălina emphasized. Her demonstration revealed how AI assistants integrated with terminology management and style guides can enhance productivity without replacing human expertise. Her closing thought summed up the balanced approach: "AI helps, but humans lead."
Ciprian Iovu's case study on "Integrating AI into Translation" provided practical workflows for pre-translation, translation, and post-translation phases, showing how AI can be used responsibly while complying with NDAs and data protection requirements.
Beyond Technology: The Human and Societal Perspective
The conference didn't shy away from deeper questions about AI's impact on society and professional identity. Bogdan-Andrei Lungu's "Robotizing the Contemporary World" explored the sociological and philosophical implications of AI systems.
Bogdan discussed the EU AI Act, highlighting how regulation attempts to mitigate risks while fostering innovation. He challenged the notion of AI "intelligence," describing current systems as "probabilistic statistical machines" that model reality based on training data rather than truly understanding it.
Adela Preda's workshop "Plan AI or Plan B?" focused on the emotional and psychological aspects of technological change. Alina offered strategies for building resilience and embracing flexibility in an uncertain future, reminding participants that "change is the only constant in the world" and we are "built to adapt to it."
Building Skills for the Future
Dina Climatiano offered a refreshing take on creativity with her experimental approach to "Creating a Creativity Practice." By committing to daily creative activities across various media, she demonstrated how consistent practice builds a creative mindset that can help translators think beyond literal translations.
Jerzy Czopik's session "Why You Need to Have Your Own Translation Process" emphasized the importance of developing personalized workflows that maintain quality while navigating the increasingly diverse tool requirements of different clients.
Ioana Hosu's presentation "Introducing AI into Day to Day Corporate Tasks" provided valuable insights from an enterprise perspective. Ioana, who works with implementing AI solutions across a large organization, shared a structured approach to AI governance and risk assessment, including data protection considerations and approval processes. Her case studies of successful AI implementations in areas like product segmentation, incident summarization, and demand forecasting offered language professionals a glimpse into how larger corporations evaluate and integrate AI technologies. She emphasized that "identifying and prioritizing the right use cases are critical for wider adoption" while acknowledging that "AI is not an answer to every problem."
The Human Element Remains Essential
If there was one consistent message throughout TranslateCluj 2025, it was that while AI is transforming our industry, human expertise, creativity, and connection remain essential. The successful language professional of the future won't be the one who resists technology but the one who understands how to leverage it while developing uniquely human capabilities.
The 7th edition of TranslateCluj showed that by focusing on practical applications, continuous learning, and community building, language professionals can navigate technological change with confidence and creativity.
