Introduction

Artificial intelligence is already an integral part of many translation processes. Its ability to handle large volumes of content and speed up certain tasks offers some very interesting opportunities for sectors that regularly work with multilingual documentation.

However, medical texts require much more than a literal translation that appears correct at first glance. It is important to ensure consistency in terminology, to comply with the regulatory requirements of each country, and to ensure that the information is clear to the reader, whether they are a healthcare professional or a patient.

Therefore, the question is not simply if artificial intelligence can be used to translate medical documents. The question we must ask ourselves is how to integrate it into the process without compromising the accuracy and reliability of the end result.

AI as a support tool in specialized translation

Machine translation systems and generative language models have significantly improved their ability to produce fluent and natural-sounding texts. This makes it possible to use artificial intelligence as an aid in certain stages of the translation process, particularly when working with large volumes of content.

In medical documentation, a term that appears to have been translated correctly may not be appropriate in that context, or may cause the instructions to lose their precision. The aim of a specialized team of linguists is to avoid these risks.

A company may be able to review an English version directly, but not necessarily the German, Chinese, Korean or Japanese versions. For this reason, it is not enough for a translation into a particular language to be correct; it is also necessary to ensure that the different language versions convey the same information.

The question is not whether to integrate AI, but at which stages of the process and under what oversight criteria.

Updates to the European AI regulation

Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, which lays down rules on artificial intelligence within the European Union, entered into force in August 2024 and is generally applicable from 2 August 2026. Among other things, Article 50 sets out transparency obligations for certain content generated or manipulated using artificial intelligence.

Within that article, there is a section that directly affects us. If an AI system generates or manipulates text to inform the public about matters of public interest, that content must be labelled as AI-generated. Healthcare certainly falls into that category.

The only exception is where the text has undergone a process of human review or editorial control, and a natural or legal person assumes editorial responsibility for what has been published.

Furthermore, the European Commission specifies that mere grammar or spelling corrections do not count as reviewing. Someone with sufficient professional judgement must be involved in the assessment of the content.

How can we mitigate these risks?

Artificial intelligence can make translation processes more efficient, but its use must be tailored to the level of specialization of each project.

At Globalingua, we design workflows adapted to the needs of various sectors, including the biomedical sector.

For these projects, we have specialist native-speaking translators who ensure terminological consistency, quality control and the final validation of each project.

Do you need a specialized translation?

If you handle medical documentation in several languages and want to make sure that the process meets quality standards, we can help you.

Please fill in the form below and we will get in touch with you as soon as possible: