‘Tentacles squelching wetly’: the human subtitle writers under threat from AI | Film

IS artificial intelligence will destroy the SDH [subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing] industry? This is a valid question because, although the SDH is the default subtitle format on most platforms, humans behind it – as for all creative industries – are increasingly devalued in the AI ​​era. “SDH is an art, and people in the industry have no idea. They think that this is only a transcription, ”explains Max Daryagin, president of Subtil, a non-profit association of independent subtitles and translators.

The reflection is that the AI ​​should simplify the process of creating subtitles, but it is very good, explains Meredith Cannella, subtle member of the committee. “There is an assumption that we must now do less work because of AI tools. But I have been doing it now for about 14 to 15 years, and there has not been much difference in the time I need to finish projects in the past five or six years.”

“Automatic transcription is the only place where I saw positive progress,” adds Cannella, “but even then, it does not affect the total time it takes to produce an SDH file.” So many corrections are necessary for there to be no clear advantage compared to the use of older software.

In addition, the quality of the SDH generated by AI is so poor that a lot of work is necessary to put them according to the standard – but because human subtitles are often allocated tasks as “quality control”, payment is minimal. Subtile notes that many of its members are now unable to make a decent salary.

“The SDH prices are not great to start, but now they are so low that it is not even worth taking the work,” explains Rachel Jones, audiovisual translator and member of the Subtle Committee. “It really undermines the role we play.”

And it’s a vital role. Teri Devine, associate director of inclusion to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, says: “For deaf people or who have hearing loss, subtitles are an essential service – allowing them to enjoy cinema and television with dear beings and remain connected to popular culture.”

The deaf and hard of hearing community is not monolithic, which means that the subtitles juggle a variety of needs in the creation of the SDH. Jones says: “Some people may say that having the name of a subtitled song is completely useless, because they say nothing to them. But others could have a memory of how the song has gone, and they will be able to connect through the title of the song. Some people think that emotional clues are on the way and tell them how to feel it is to be objective.”

The subtitling involves a lot of creative and emotionally motivated decisions, two things that AI does not currently have the capacity. When Jones is watching for the first time a program, she writes how sounds make her feel, then explains how to transfer her reactions to words. Then it determines which sounds should be subtitled and which are excessive. “You can’t overwhelm the spectator,” she says. It is a delicate balance. “You don’t want to describe something that would be clear to the public,” said Cannella, “and sometimes what’s going on on the screen is much more important than audio. Sweet music may not have any importance!”

AI is unable to decide what sounds are important. “Right now, it’s not even close,” says Daryagin. He also underlines the importance of the broader context of a film, rather than watching images or isolated scenes. In Blow Out (1981), for example, a mysterious sound is heard. Later, this sound is heard again – and, to hear viewers, reveals a major intrigue point. “The SDH must instantly connect these two things, but also not to say too much in the first case, because viewers must wonder what is going on,” he said. “The same sound can mean a million different things. As human beings, we interpret what it means and how it is supposed to feel.”

“You cannot just give an algorithm a soundtrack and say:” Here are the sounds, discover it “. Even if you give it metadata, that cannot approach the level of professional work. I have made my experiences!”

Netflix shared an overview of its SDH processes after Stranger Things subtitles, such as “[Eleven pants]” Or “[Tentacles squelching wetly]”Has become viral, via an interview with its subtitles. The company refused to comment more on its use of AI in its subtit.

Jones says that linguists and subtitles are not necessarily against AI – but for the moment, it makes the lives of practitioners more difficult rather than easier. “In each industry, AI is used to replace all the creative things that bring us joy instead of the boring and tedious tasks that we hate to do,” she says.