AI has made headway in scaling low-stakes translation services and, to a much lesser degree, interpreting services. Automated interpreting frequently encounters technology limitations and restrictions of use due to the high-stakes nature of most interpreted scenarios. In pediatric emergencies, human trafficking investigations, mental health encounters, or domestic violence hotlines, AI runs into invisible communication barriers. One of them is the physiology of trauma.
Trauma can fragment memory, disrupt speech patterns, and distort nonverbal cues. For this reason, a trauma-informed approach to interpreting is increasingly essential in healthcare, legal, and emergency response contexts.
In response to this demand, we now educate and validate interpreters in trauma-informed protocols which are grounded in foundational principles of trauma-informed care and have launched the CCHI-approved Trauma-Informed Interpreting Certificate Program. Many MasterWord interpreters develop skills such as recognizing signs of trauma, pacing conversations to facilitate grounding, and learning to employ strategies that mitigate their own risk of vicarious trauma. These distinctly human competencies are proving invaluable to clients who depend on interpreters for high-stakes communication affected by trauma.
Healthcare institutions report improved patient outcomes when trauma-informed care is the norm. We’ve seen a dramatic increase in interest and demand for interpreters with this specialization.
AI continues to dominate industry conversation and the news. More often we now hear stories of humans having to “clean up after AI”, thus new service lines are emerging for our industry. Highly qualified and specialized interpreters and translators will continue to deliver on the positive real-world outcomes that stakeholders truly value. Moving forward, expertise in human review of AI translation, human at the core processes, and interpreting will drive LSP growth.

This year has been defined by meaningful progress and renewed confidence across our industry. Despite widespread concerns, steady interest from private equity underscores that language services remain a worthwhile investment. Most importantly, we are actively shaping how AI is adopted. With generative AI edging past the peak of the tech hype cycle adopted as one of the tools we use, the focus now is on accountability and mitigating risk.

Nothing yet replaces the nuanced oversight that skilled professionals provide. AI output needs informed human interpretation, validation, and labelling. This raises pivotal questions about workforce readiness and whether we have the right new roles and workflows in place to thrive in an AI-driven environment. It’s not just about “upskilling or reskilling,” but understanding precisely what new expertise is required and remaking job descriptions to fit.

Meanwhile, many LSPs are focused on offering AI-related services. But do these align with evolving client needs? Are our assumptions about their pain points still accurate? Or have shifting priorities, shaped by AI and digital transformation, introduced new hurdles?

I’m encouraged by the industry-wide focus on responsible AI. Recent Interpreting SAFE AI Task Force guidance on the ethical application AI in automated interpreting affirms that AI adoption does not negate the need for human expertise; rather, it opens doors for innovation. Reflecting on 2024, I see a year where we gained momentum, questioned old models, innovated, and transformed. As we move into 2025, we’ll continue championing responsible AI, addressing evolving client pain points, and taking language access and global communication solutions to the next level.

Ludmila Golovine, President and CEO of Masterword

Language services are thriving, reflecting a promising outlook for our industry. As we see the adoption of technology at an incredible pace, the need for humans at the core continues to grow. This is a time of innovation and reinvention, where new content creation is increasingly multilingual and language access continues to expand. However, it's essential to remember that AI is a tool that still requires adult supervision.

Government policies and regulations are starting to shape our landscape. In the US, updated healthcare regulations (Section 1557) now explicitly prohibit discrimination and bias in AI-driven translations, mandating human review for critical translations. The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act categorizes AI according to risk, underpinning the value of human validation.

Leaders in our field have been diligent in lighting the path forward. Guidance on the safe and ethical use of AI in interpreting, developed by the SAFE-AI Task Force, has recently completed a round of public review and comment and is due for publication in the upcoming days. Additionally, the ASTM is incorporating translation labels, reinforcing the importance of transparency and quality assurance for AI-driven translation.

Despite the rapid technological advancements, three billion speakers of marginalized languages are still on the wrong side of the digital divide. However, emerging technologies provide great hope, potentially enabling these communities to leapfrog into the digital era, accessing education, services, and opportunities previously unavailable in their languages.

Our commitment remains to harness AI responsibly, and with thoughtful integration, we can shape a more connected and equitable world.

It’s the beginning of a new and exciting chapter for our industry. Advances in AI have undeniably become an invaluable tool, but with it comes the necessity for prudence: knowing when to leverage AI and when its shortcomings may present risks is crucial. With the 2023 edition of ASTM F2575 offering guidelines for Translation Grades or Service Levels, we have the opportunity to present unified, responsible AI messaging to clients and ensure smart choices on project approaches.

Yet, AI is more than a tool to improve services: it is an agent of global change. Presently, 40% of the global population has limited access to digital information due to language barriers, disproportionately affecting speakers of marginalized languages. As an industry, we hold the keys to unlock a new era of equitable information access. By harnessing AI advancements, we can help speakers of all languages become part of the global digital economy.

The fusion of responsible AI application guidelines and leveraging AI for improved information accessibility represents the potential for LSPs to shape not only our industry but the world. Our unique ability to balance use of AI and human SMEs, efficiency, and equity will define success in 2023 and beyond.

The evolving market forces of the last few years will accelerate to a point where only agile LSPs, those which are adaptable and innovative, will make significant headway in 2023. Digital transformation, advances in AI, and evolving regulatory environments are creating opportunities for growth, but we also face very real challenges. Owing to declining service rates, the number of professionals dropping out of the industry is escalating, even as global demand surges. LSPs will need to unify around industry standards, such as translation grades, that create a new framework for pricing and allow for increased compensation for subject matter experts. Demand is surging for languages of limited diffusion. Forces like conflict, catastrophes, and economic uncertainty shifted the makeup of refugee and migrant populations. Flexibility in the face of shifting demographics has become crucial for meeting demand. Additionally, proposed US civil rights rules enhancing the Affordable Care Act and a heightened focus on DEI is opening opportunities for LSPs to deliver expanded services in both health care and the public sector. This unique blend of opportunity and challenge has made one thing clear: agility will be a key characteristic of successful LSPs in the year ahead.

Fastest Growing LSPs Edition

Global challenges like COVID variants, inflation, and slowed economic growth have proven our industry to be, to a degree, recession-proof. Organizations continue to need language services to expand into new markets and to ensure communication access domestically. Our industry is primed for growth.

Organic growth depends on an LSP’s ability to scale rapidly while maintaining excellence across the organization in both processes and people. Creating an environment that has been recognized as the best place to work, the strength of our business model, the commitment of our team, and the trust of our customers have all helped us chart a path to sustainable scalability. This has allowed MasterWord to become the fastest organically growing LSP in the world.

Now, emerging trends in technology and revisions to industry standards require continued innovation. The mass adoption of MT has increased the need for buyers to differentiate translation services, so they can make purchasing decisions fit for purpose and suitably priced. With both ASTM and ISO working on incorporating translation grades into quality assurance standards as early as 2023, we will see a major shift in the way we talk about buying and selling language services.

There’s no going back to “business as usual,” but we’ve gained insight. Global challenges like COVID variants, inflation, and slowed economic growth have proven our industry to be, to a degree, recession-proof. Organizations continue to need language services to grow into new markets internationally and to ensure language and communication access domestically. The same global challenges and the mass adoption of MT technologies have increased the need for buyers to differentiate standardized translation grades, giving them the ability to purchase translation options that are fit for purpose and suitably priced. The conversation about translation grades is likely to be one of the hottest topics of 2022, as both ASTM and ISO are currently discussing incorporating them into revised and new translation service standards. Industry innovation has exploded over the past few years, and it hasn’t slowed down. For MasterWord, our diversity has been a key driver of innovation, especially in our communication access solutions for languages of lesser diffusion, including indigenous languages with no standardized writing system. I’m optimistic that discussion, diversity, and innovation will continue to drive growth and opportunity across our industry.

The storm of the pandemic shook our industry and disrupted the way we had been doing things. However, a crisis is often a two-way street; where there is calamity there is opportunity. We saw physical borders closing but a global, virtual community connecting at an accelerated rate. The way we worked, the way we delivered vital services to those who needed them most, and the way we organized our efforts all had to change. Rather than fighting to hold on to the old, MasterWord’s focus shifted to the new. Our team is largely working remotely, and our company culture has embraced the new technology and processes that keep us connected and even more efficient – we had a record year in 2021. The cloud of the pandemic still looms and disruptions to daily life have become the new norm as we enter 2022. Our industry was affected by the Great Resignation, our teams of independent linguists continue to face legislative challenges where the traditional freelance model is under threat, and while the cloud of the pandemic remains, the path forward is clear. As a team, we are stronger, and as an industry, we are more united in facing shared challenges together.

MasterWord has successfully navigated through the global crisis, which has once again highlighted the importance of our team and company culture. The common denominator for all our achievements and growth has been the team’s underlying strength, which has led us to spot the opportunities that are in every new challenge. This has been a time for innovation and finding new and better ways to support our customers. We have created a culture of success. At MasterWord we define success by having each individual team member feeling empowered to become their best self. We encourage each person to identify and refine their strengths to follow their dreams. By understanding that optimal growth occurs at the border of support and challenge, we focus our energy on the ultimate vision instead of diverting our attention to a bump in the road. In 2021, the team has put MasterWord on track for the fastest growth in our history. If anything, the pandemic has shown us that the most important thing during a storm is to focus on the vision and the team, while keeping our minds and hearts open, and seeing challenges as a way to discover the best in us all.

The COVID-19 pandemic is not the first global crisis to impact business, and it will unfortunately not be the last. As we reflect on 2020 and the adjustments we had to make to everyday life, we find ourselves analyzing the lessons learned and trusting that our dynamic 2021 business plans will move us forward. While COVID-19 may have presented a unique opportunity to introduce efficiency in our methodologies and workflows through increased automation and other process innovation, will these planned adjustments be enough to allow us to pivot to a new normal? What will that new normal look like? The past year has shown the strength of our business model, the commitment of our staff, and the wholehearted trust of our customers. This has helped us chart our new path to continuity and sustainability. As the prospect of a return to normal appears with vaccinations, we see a bright future for our industry.

The Language Services industry has proven to be remarkably resilient and adaptable to economy fluctuations over the years; COVID-19 was no exception. Initially, the team kept busy adjusting to the demands and requirements of remote work and continuing to support customers and partners. Our corporate mission of connecting people across language and culture was rapidly kicked into high gear: within one week we launched a new service line leveraging virtual communication platforms to provide language access under new social distancing rules.
As situational fatigue began to set in over the days and weeks, we observed the challenges of remote work increasingly becoming an issue to be reckoned with. From the complexities of virtual meetings to the pressures of external elements at home and the challenges linked to imposed isolation, it has been crucial for us to introduce new ways to inspire, guide, and support our team. And while revenue and financial indicators are slowly turning positive, it appears as if the reality of COVID may last for months to come and “normal” operations may never be the same. We need to be prepared for the long haul, and this is where true teamwork really matters.