Machine translation is the use of software for translating materials that humans would normally work on. AI-powered tools like Google Translate, DeepL, and OpenAI’s language models can now produce translations that are remarkably accurate—yet something often feels off. The words, the grammar and the meaning are correct, but the result still sounds unnatural, robotic, and slightly wrong.
This phenomenon is called the “uncanny valley” effect, a term originally used in robotics to describe humanoid creations that are almost—but not quite—realistic, triggering discomfort. The same sensation happens with AI-generated translations; when a translation is blatantly incorrect, we recognise the poor quality and move on, but when it’s almost perfect, our brains struggle to understand the text, resulting in the same feeling of discomfort.
Let’s explore why AI translations fall into the uncanny valley, why technically correct work isn’t good enough and why human translators remain crucial.
How AI translation gets things almost right—but still wrong
Machine translation systems rely on vast datasets and neural networks to predict the most likely translations for a given phrase, unlike early rule-based systems, modern AI models analyse billions of sentence patterns to generate results that mimic natural language. However, AI doesn’t actually understand language—it just predicts it.
This leads to several translation issues:
- Overly literal phrasing – AI struggles with idioms, cultural references, and figurative language, for example, a phrase like “it’s raining cats and dogs” might be translated literally into another language, making no sense to a native speaker.
- Correct but unnatural sentence structures – Different languages structure sentences differently and AI often fails to adjust sentence flow, resulting in translations that feel awkward.
- Lack of emotional nuance – Words carry connotations beyond their dictionary definitions. AI can miss subtleties like sarcasm, irony, or emotional tone, producing robotic or tonally inappropriate results.
- Context failures – AI struggles with ambiguous words; bank could mean a financial institution or the side of a river, and AI often picks the wrong one. This can affect formality too, resulting in text that feels too casual or overly rigid.
The result is a translation that is “correct” but doesn’t necessarily make sense. This mismatch creates the same eerie discomfort we feel when looking at a human-like robot that doesn’t quite move or express itself naturally.
Why human translators are still essential
As powerful as AI translation is, it still lacks the intuitive, cultural, and emotional intelligence of a human translator. True translation isn’t just about replacing words—it’s about adapting meaning for the target audience.
Human translators can:
- Capture idioms and cultural references that AI would mistranslate or omit.
- Adapt emotional tone and intent, ensuring messages feel natural and engaging.
- Handle ambiguous words and complex phrasing with contextual understanding.
- Adjust formality and nuance based on audience and industry standards.
For businesses, relying solely on AI translation—without human revision—can result in content that feels cold, unnatural, or even unintentionally offensive. In industries like marketing, legal, or healthcare, where precision and tone are critical, this standard won’t suffice.
The best approach is human-AI collaboration—using AI for speed and efficiency but refining outputs with professional human oversight to ensure clarity and authenticity.
Near-perfect isn’t good enough
The uncanny valley highlights a fundamental truth: language isn’t just about accuracy—it’s about feeling right. AI is getting closer to human-level translation, but without emotional and cultural awareness, it still produces results that sound unnatural.
If you want translations that go beyond accuracy to feel truly natural, contact Dialecta today. Our team combines cutting-edge AI tools with expert human translators to ensure your message is not just understood—but resonates with its target audience.