No Loc No Life

Japanese Study Apps That DON'T Use AI - Japanese Talk The plagiarism machine seems to be worming its way into everything. Here's a list of Japanese Study apps That DON'T Use AI!

Good news!!!

I previously wrote an article about Japanese apps that don't use AI and listed Satori Reader as one that is dabbling in AI images.

Thanks to feedback from users they decided to change their approach and not use AI at all. Making them 100% AI FREE!!!
jtalkonline.com/japanese-stu...

When you used to pay translators $90 ($3.5 a minute) an episode when the standard was at least $230 ($10 a minute).

You finally increased everyone's rates only to fire a bunch of people and start experimenting with AI.

Confession bear with the text "Every time I see an ad for AI on LinkedIn, I report it as scam/fraud."

Confession time...

Apropos of absolutely nothing, but if a book's translation quality left a positive impression on you, PLEASE post about it! Those involved in its creation (publishers, translators, editors) see it, and we appreciate being told when something was done well or it landed the right way with readers ☺️

BUT it also hurts the publishers because finding new freelancers is so much more work than having someone trusted on hand.

It's mutually beneficial to pay your contractors a reasonable rate and treat them like humans. Happy freelancers, good quality work, long-term collaboration and mutual trust.

So why the heck is the pay for media localization SO badly?!

It's hard to negotiate better rates without having a backup income because clients can easily just cut you off. There will always be people willing to work for less.

Japanese is considered one of THE HARDEST languages to learn. You then have to learn HOW to translate on top (no, people who know two languages can't just translate without practice/learning how), and for media you need to know so much additional info and have a wide range of knowledge.

Not to get all "Workers of the world, unite!" early on a Monday morning, but I'm deeply concerned with how much power manga publishers hold over contract workers.

🧵a thread that I will hopefully not regret posting

One company to steer clear of as a freelance translator or company looking for TV/movie localization!

THIS! I made this account because a coworker was harassing me and reporting me to my managers for being anti-AI. They suggested I make an anonymous account so I did. I can't outright call out shitty companies and bad practices myself.

They also make it very difficult for people who don't speak Japanese to raise concerns directly, but they do have a contact page at least.
form.id.shogakukan.co.jp/forms/sol

It's not just Viz, but Shogakukan who think it's OK to use slop for their translations. They've been convinced by slop companies like Mantra and Orange that AI is "good quality" and "helps translators", but don't see articles like this or how bad it is because they don't speak other languages.

Dear manga publishers, we don’t want your AI translations VIZ Media quietly added an AI-translated manga to their app and hoped no one would notice. We did and want none of it.

VIZ Media quietly added an AI-translated manga to their app and hoped no one would notice. We did.

Manga deserves better than cheap, soulless automation. This is a betrayal of translators, fans, and the art form.

We don't want your AI translations!

Wheel World by @messhof.bsky.social / @annapurna.com, localized in 11 languages, does NOT feature any #TranslatorsInTheCredits. Only the localization agency, EDS Wordland Ltd., is credited.

So I looked at the OFFICIAL first english chapter of Gundam Wing PREVERNTER-7

Lol
Lmao

Headline from The Conversation: More people are considering Al lovers, and we shouldn't judge

I actually can and will judge people who are using environmentally devastating technology built on mass theft to create a fictional partner who does nothing but tell how great they are.

Don't forget, you can automatically block AI art and label accounts that use AI profile pictures and banners with this labeler!
bsky.app/profile/did:...

AI profile pics and banners are more stupid.

it is bonkers-wild that after a decade of Vagina Bones controversies and gamergate bad faith accusations, a journalist went out and exposed actual video game censorship in the genuine and harmful sense and The Article Got Pulled By The Publisher.

Booths that push gen AI feels like a big f-you to the programmers, artists, localizers etc. who attend/show off their cool personally-made projects.

@bitsummit.bsky.social please consider not allowing games, or at least vendors, who use/push AI slop on guests in the future. It feels so ick.

It's wild hearing these profit-oriented execs try to frame the use of MTPE as "good for everyone, actually", when really, it's only good for their pockets.

Filmmakers, writers, artists, translators, dubbing experts, all agree: translation needs a human touch.

A message written by the AVTE (audiovisual translators europe) saying : "Much to our surprise, we see more and more translation jobs for The Walt Disney Company reduced to machine translation post-editing - and this happens all over the world. We were shocked to find out it's Disney themselves that forces this solution. One can't but wonder if filmmakers - who put so much effort into their series and features and who spend endless hours refining editing and sound engineering - are aware of what happens with their work at the very last leg of its develivery to the non-English viewer. It's hard to understand this policy, since it takes a scant fraction of the total production cost to deliver a high-quality language localization, while MTPE yields a product of much worse quality. Reducing foreign language versions of a Disney production to MTPE is like coating a high-performance sports car with builder-grade paint."

Full support to our fellow translators from AVTE.

While not being surprising coming from such a profit-oriented transnational corporation, it is still utterly disappointing and disgusting.

Using MT is a conscious 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 they make.

It's been a very AI discussion heavy week and I'm so sick and tired of it. Wish the bubble would burst already and it vanish into obscurity.

I think "Crunchyroll started as a pirate streaming website" is information that is becoming less and less of common knowledge as the fandom swells.

I think its worth making a point of it whenever possible.

'They tried to choke us from the start:' Secret 6 Madrid workers slam owner Testronic ahead of impending closure 'At some point we realized that we were trying to save something that someone else had decided should be left to die.'

'They tried to choke us from the start:' Secret 6 Madrid workers slam owner Testronic ahead of impending closure

Why We Quit Spotify Enough is enough

Just when you think there couldn’t possibly be any more reasons to quit Spotify, the brutal news keeps coming

How AI translations of manga continues the 'enshitification' of the medium, and why Japanase publishers are "less precious" about it [Popverse Jump] Translating a manga from Japanese to English isn't a straightforward process, which is why AI will always be terrible at it.

Lot of AI in manga and anime these days, so I went and spoke to several JPN to ENG translators, most of whom have been working in the industry for decades.

They did not paint GenAI in a good light as you can see in this week's Popverse Jump .

www.thepopverse.com/comics-manga...

Boycott all publishers using GenAi.

I hope the authors who you publish see the backlash against your push to ruin their books with AI slop. Machine and AI translation is TERRIBLE. It does not produce the quality you want and just makes your book look cheap. Hire real translators if you have any self respect.
bsky.app/profile/theb...