User Data Privacy – is it safe when using Machine Translation?
Nowadays, when the internet has definitely made the world a smaller place, translation and localization have become increasingly important. From a professional translation team point of view, machine translation and more specifically Chat GPT – have repeatedly made the headlines for being a next-generation tool that performs impressively with fluency and human-like results in translation and localization. Along with the prestigious results, concerns have been raised.
Will the data shared during translation keep within the data privacy rules? Are the risks of usage for targeted advertising or even identity theft real?
One way to address this concern is to use a custom and trusted translation service provider that takes privacy seriously. A reputable translation service provider will have strict data protection policies in place and will ensure your data is secure. In addition, they will have strict confidentiality agreements with their translators and will only share data on a need-to-know basis. This means that your data will only be accessible to those who are directly involved in the translation process.
Does machine translation run the risk of compromising the material being translated?
The obvious solution is to use a secure machine translation system. Some machine translation systems are designed to be secure and use encryption to protect your data. This ensures that your data is protected during the translation process and cannot be accessed by unauthorized parties.
The principle is simple: if you use a free service, you can be almost certain that your text will be used to “improve the translation service provided”. However, if you choose a translation service provider that has security measures implemented, you can rest assured your text privacy is kept under tight wraps, since the terms of use of paid services are totally different from the free services.
Is custom MT the solution? Most probably yes.
Publitrad uses a mix of a customized neural machine translation system and a human team that keeps at the forefront the privacy issues and thus ensures that your texts are secured and locked.
It is important to note that while privacy concerns are valid, machine translation can provide significant benefits: they are faster and definitely cost-effective and can be used to translate larger volumes of text rather quickly. In addition, AI bots can be used to translate into multiple languages simultaneously, making it an ideal tool for global operations.
But this is why we also have a human team in place, ready to take a thorough look and measures to protect your data.
Complying with GDPR in the context of MT usage
There is also the particular case of complying with GDPR in the European Union. The provisions on confidentiality must be respected throughout any web-based process and the Union’s intellectual and industrial property rights must be safeguarded at all times.
As such, it is essential that any use of machine translation systems for translation and localization in the EU must be compliant with GDPR regulations. This means that any data collected during the translation process must be kept secure and individuals must be made aware of how their data will be used. In addition, data must only be collected on a need-to-know basis, and any personal data must be deleted once it is no longer needed. By ensuring compliance with GDPR regulations, businesses can confidently use MT for translation and localization while protecting the privacy of their customers and employees.
As a consequence, any translation service provider should use a customized NMT (neural machine translation) that has the option of using offline as offline MT programs are more secure than online programs.
In conclusion: privacy concerns surrounding machine translation and Chat GOT are valid, but there are ways to address these concerns and the human factor remains the main control factor in an area that shows great development in these digitalization days.