Professional Translation Practice in the Digital Age: New Challenges and Opportunities

The rapid advancement of digital technologies has fundamentally transformed professional translation practice, raising both opportunities and challenges for practitioners. The problem driving this study is the tension between technological innovation—particularly computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools, machine translation (MT), and artificial intelligence (AI)—and the preservation of translation quality, professional identity, and ethical standards. While digital tools have enhanced efficiency and accessibility, they have also created risks of deprofessionalisation, overreliance on automated outputs, and pressures on pricing structures. The objectives of this article are threefold: to trace the historical development of professional translation in the digital age; to examine the new challenges posed by neural machine translation (NMT) and large language models (LLMs); and to identify the opportunities that digital tools create for enhancing professional practice. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative review of existing literature, synthesizing scholarly perspectives on CAT, MT, localization, post-editing, and AI-driven translation. This approach enables a comprehensive understanding of both the technological shifts and their sociocultural implications for translators. Findings reveal that the digital age has redefined professional translation through hybrid workflows, where human expertise complements machine-generated drafts. Translators have taken on new roles as cultural mediators, quality controllers, and ethical decision-makers, ensuring that digital translations meet standards of accuracy, cultural sensitivity, and confidentiality. At the same time, the study identifies persistent challenges, including reduced remuneration, ethical concerns regarding data privacy, and the risk of marginalizing human creativity.