Quality remains a central concern in interpreting studies, with implications for professional practice. While a comprehensive account would encompass interpreter qualifications, ethics, and working conditions, evaluation usually targets performance, the real-time target-language output delivered to listeners. Literature broadly converges on accuracy, clarity, and fidelity as core, product-oriented criteria, complemented by listener orientation—usability—and adequacy to the audience and event. Against this backdrop, the use of AI-based interpreting and captioning solutions is expanding, although recent tests on Google’s GEMINI 1.5 Flash and 2.0 Flash and on Wordly report reductions in accuracy, logical coherence, and contextual awareness, with associated reputational risks. Despite these concerns, AI captioning and interpreting at events has started being deployed after the COVID-19 pandemic, in an effort to replace human interpreters and their use is steadily growing posing a threat to the professional survival of human interpreters. To investigate current perceptions, a pilot survey was conducted with event organisers and audiovisual providers in Greece in 2025 and 2026, at an 8-month interval. The findings indicate a decline in satisfaction, with average ratings dropping from 3/5 (moderately satisfied) in 2025 to 2.2/5 (rather unsatisfied) in 2026, while concerns about their own survival in the market as AV providers or event organisers are also increasing.
Maria Petrocheilou is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting at the Ionian University. Maria Petrocheilou is an Assistant Professor of Interpreting (English–Greek) in the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting at the Ionian University, Corfu, Greece. She holds a PhD in Interpreting Studies from the Ionian University, an MAS in Interpreter Training from the University of Geneva (ETI), an MA in Modern Greek Studies from the Freie Universität Berlin, an Italian Degree (Laurea) in Conference Interpreting from the University of Trieste and a 4-year Greek Degree in French Language and Literature from the University of Athens. She is a practicing conference interpreter [member of AIIC, Assointerpreti Italy, the Hellenic Association of Conference interpreters and PEEMPIP] and a practising translator with various published translations in her portfolio. Her research focuses on conference and public service interpreting, interpreter ethics and certification, interpreter training, and the impact of new technologies and AI on interpreting. She served as a researcher and an author in the EEA-funded project Hellenic Register for Public Service Interpreters 2022-23, contributing to the development of Greece's national register and quality assurance framework for public service interpreters. Dr Petrocheilou’s recent publications focus on interpreter ethics, certification, and interpreting studies. Her current research explores visual attention and eye contact in simultaneous interpreting, remote simultaneous interpreting, and the implications of artificial intelligence for the interpreting profession.
