Harlequin France to Test AI-Assisted Translation

Allegations and Confirmation: The French Literary Translators Association (ATLF) and En Chair et en Os (In the Flesh) accused Harlequin’s French division of separating contracts with professional translators and outsourcing to Fluent Planet, an agency in Bordeaux. HarperCollins France confirmed it is testing Fluent Planet’s services, which include AI-assisted translations.
AI and Translation: Fluent Planet’s method involves AI to initially translate texts, followed by freelancer editing. HarperCollins France clarified that no Harlequin collections are fully machine-translated.
Profit Motive: According to the press release from ATLF and En Chair et en Os, the goal is to boost profits by reducing translator workload. HarperCollins framed its declining sales as the reason for testing new methods and highlighted its wish to keep book prices low.
Market Reaction: ATLF and En Chair et en Os strongly oppose the use of automated translation, emphasizing the importance of human translators under fair conditions. They rallied writers, directors, and readers against this approach.
Industry Trend: This move follows a broader trend among publishers and start-ups, such as U.K.-based Taylor & Francis, GlobeScribe, and Ailaysa, which have increasingly used AI-enhanced translation methods, often targeting “low-resource” languages.