The 2020s Political Economy of Machine Translation

TL;DR

This paper examines how machine translation in the 2020s could reduce language barriers but also introduces new challenges affecting idea dissemination and economic growth.

Contribution

It analyzes the evolving political economy of machine translation and its differential impacts on communication barriers and economic dynamics.

Findings

Machine translation may lower language barriers in communication and trade.

It creates new challenges in the distribution of ideas and innovation.

Impacts on economic growth are complex and multifaceted.

Abstract

This paper explores the hypothesis that the diversity of human languages, right now a barrier to interoperability in communication and trade, will become significantly less of a barrier as machine translation technologies are deployed over the next several years.But this new boundary-breaking technology does not reduce all boundaries equally, and it creates new challenges for the distribution of ideas and thus for innovation and economic growth.