'Tentacles squelching wetly': the human subtitle writers under threat from AI

'You can't just give an algorithm a soundtrack and say, "here are the sounds, figure it out''' a subtitled scene from Stranger Things. 'You can't just give an algorithm a soundtrack and say, "here are the sounds, figure it out''' a subtitled scene from Stranger Things. Artificial intelligence is making steady advances into subtitling but, say its practitioners, it's a vital service that needs a human to make it work I s artificial intelligence going to destroy the SDH [subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing] industry? It's a valid question because, while SDH is the default subtitle format on most platforms, the humans behind it - as with all creative industries - are being increasingly devalued in the age of AI. "SDH is an art, and people in the industry have no idea. They think it's just a transcription," says Max Deryagin, chair of Subtle, a non-profit association of freelance subtitlers and translators.