Artificial Intelligence, the Secret Industry: The Politics of Technology and Translation

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry is developing very fast but without the necessary oversight or regulation that guarantees the openness, rather than the secrecy, of the industry. Valuable, essential information is hidden from the international public at a time when the nature of AI applications and consequently risks are becoming more globalised. The development of advanced AI systems is quite often kept out of the academia and the civil society's reach under allegations like competition laws or issues of intellectual property. Meanwhile, the global propaganda made for artificial intelligence (AI) is much bigger than the scope of our imagination that it raises valid questions about the nature of this industry and the one or ones who control it. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the secret industry of AI and the politics of technology and to explore the role of translation in this regard. For this purpose to be achieved, this study uses a multi-disciplinary approach, deriving its tenets from world politics, computer engineering and translation studies and employs basically content analysis and interpretation as research methods to analyse the data. It challenges our understanding of and conceptions about AI technology and translation, thus affecting the field of AI in general, national policies and security, international peace and security, users, and translation.