A white paper from ZOO Digital says AI is a useful first-step in localisation but that human skills are still essential

AI robot dubbing

ZOO Digital has released a white paper looking at how AI is impacting localisation services. It has found that AI is predominantly being utilised in the sector to enhance workflows and productivity rather than to displace existing jobs.

The white paper says that although AI can streamline certain processes, it still requires human oversight from linguists to review AI-translated subtitles, editors to ensure captions meet style guides, and directors to adjust synthetic speech to guarantee fluency.

AI can assist with initial dialogue transcription, which is a key step in the localisation process. These transcriptions also aid in creating same-language captions for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.

However, ZOO Digital says the quality standards of premium content providers still require human editors to review and perfect these outputs.

Machine translation is another area where AI shows promise but falls short for premium entertainment content, according to this report.

It says that while automatic subtitling tools “may work for cheap to create, user-generated content or factual narrated documentaries, they are inauthentic for entertainment media that requires a nuanced understanding of conversational dialogue”.

Skilled human linguists are essential to ensure that subtitles or dubbing scripts accurately reflect the tone, emotion, and intention of the original content.

When it comes to automating the dubbing process with synthetic voices and lip-syncing, “the ability to capture the subtleties of an actor’s performance means that AI currently cannot meet the high standards expected in premium entertainment”, says the report.

ZOO Digital also advocates for full transparency with clients and partners where the use of AI is being considered.

Stuart Green, CEO of ZOO Digital Group, said: “AI falls short when it comes to fully addressing the cultural, social, and regulatory nuances essential for creating authentic and believable localised TV and film content for global markets, with human expertise remaining critical to ensuring the high-quality adaptations required for premium content.

“This is because there is so much more to localisation in entertainment than just translation; it includes adapting content to resonate with the specific cultural contexts of audiences. AI is unable to interpret contextual details vital to understanding a narrative’s subtleties — an area where skilled human professionals remain indispensable.”