Kévin Bernier

Got that too. "Come feed your NDA-protected texts into our engine! Totally free, no catch! We swears".

Right. Mkay.

Not even mentioning the whole "getting your translations approved by the soulless machines" aspect of it all.

"Chonkobo", love it!

What I love is that the "offer" being for Spanish, even though I translate to French, is the least ridiculous part of the email.

Never change, ProZ.

"Offer" received through ProZ, for Spanish audio desc/transcription work. I work from English to French, but this is surprisingly the least funny part of the email.

Behold, the most absurd e-mail I have ever received:

YouTube video by LastWeekTonight AI Slop: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Last Week Tonight's piece, which I recommend watching: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWpg...

Which can at times lead me to wonder whether I am deluding myself as to AI, and whether those who claim "AI is the future" really have it right when I keep thinking that I just don't see it, having seen how inadequate it is when it comes to translation, at least in the game localization field.

I sometimes also worry that, as a translator, I exist in somewhat of an online bubble regarding AI, as nearly everyone I choose to associate with strongly dislikes it also, or is straight up against it altogether.

Having just watched John Oliver's latest piece on Last Week Tonight, which covers AI and specifically AI slop, I feel my dislike of AI is only increasing; or at least of AI as it is being used today.

And that makes me feel very much at odds with the current online trends and hype cycles.

Très bon article, qui résume bien ma propre pensée sur le sujet. Je reçois aussi ma dose de "alors ChatGPT, hein ?" quand je dis que je suis traducteur, et personne ne me croit jamais quand je réponds que c'est nul dans le domaine où je bosse.

Plus j'avance, plus je pense que ça le sera toujours.

As Klarna flips from AI-first to hiring people again, a new landmark survey reveals most AI projects fail to deliver Just 1 in 4 AI investments bring in the ROI they promise—but CEOs just can’t resist the technology.

There's also this, which I had missed when it dropped in May: fortune.com/2025/05/09/k...

Shot in the dark, but you don't happen to know if there's an equivalent for Japanese to French?

When boutique agencies that care are trusted with the loc of a good game, everybody wins. Kudos!

Trentenaire ici et je peux confirmer, je dirais même que ce besoin de rage perpétuelle qui semble imprégner l'espace me dégoûte, et que je cherche activement des créateurs plus posés, pondérés et réfléchis.

J'espère te voir dans le paysage encore longtemps, il a besoin de gens comme toi.

J'aimerais que tu aies raison, mais je pense que le club des grifters comme tu dis est plus ouvert que jamais ; il suffit de voir les types du genre Asmongold, qui font des millions de vues et explosent en abonnés en sortant ad nauseam exactement ce type de contenu.

C'est affligeant, mais réel.

I would very much like to be included! Merci.

And it doesn't matter that it actually is not good enough, everyone everywhere is telling us that it is.

In the end, I hope people at large realize AI is nowhere near as omnipotent, and more niche, than advertised, and that they will care about quality.

Not the money movers, but people.

When the AI craze started, I worried it may in fact be good enough to be a threat, but everything I've seen suggests it's far, far from it.

The real threat is definitely that "good enough" (in managerial speak) will suffice, when combined with low cost and hype.

Duolingo's process has been hot garbage for a while, and as a translator you can immediately tell the sentences the app is feeding you are made by AI, because it's stuff that never has any applicable real-world use.

"The turtle is drinking water". Alright, man.

I give this a big "meh".

Same here; 9 games, 12 years. Real number is considerably greater.

Worth mentioning Moby entries are largely added by volunteers, and it is a rather time-consuming process to add credits, which doesn't help.

I am extremely grateful to anyone who contributes and validates credits on Moby though.

Oh, nevermind, I just got it lol. It's meant to be a much more natural way of saying how many activities are at one's disposal; I initally understood your translation as something akin to "I have so many errands to run" and was confused. My bad!

So if I go by Takoboto, this means facilities, establishment, etc. Or home for orphans, the elderly, etc. The JP def in Takoboto says the same; relating to buildings/establishments used to care for children, the elderly, etc.

Is this one of those you must know the context within JP society things?

Seriously considering ordering it in Japanese so I can struggle through the last book 😅

So now I have to wait who knows how long to know how the story ends, as I am literally only missing the last volume. This will be absolute torture for me, because I freakin' LOVE Golden Kamuy.

I've been reading to finish up Golden Kamuy, currently on Vol. 29 (out of 31).

I was certain there were only 30 volumes, and found out there are 31 yesterday. Long story short, I panic-ordered the last one, and it turns out it's in Italian. RIP. The French edition is out of stock EVERYWHERE.

Preach.

Team Takoboto!

I always recommend to keep the title in English, though there are some exceptions a translator should be aware of, mostly related to copyrights (like with the LOTR games).

I have started my journey to play Star Ocean: The Second Story R in Japanese.

So far, something like 2/3 of my playtime has been spent looking up words/tracing kanji I haven't encountered yet in the dictionary.

It is so much fun. (unironically)

Oh, and the remake is great too! Highly recommend.

It can sometimes be hard to find the willpower or motivation to read when, as a translator, you've just spent your whole day reading, essentially.

But I also think it is a crucial part of the process, not just as a creative worker, but as a human being!