The Challenge of Open Source Machine Translation

We live in a time when there is a proliferation of open-source machine learning and AI-related development platforms. Thus, people believe that given a large amount of data and a few computers, a functional and useful MT system can be developed with a do-it-yourself (DIY) tool kit. However, as many who have tried have found out, the reality is much more complicated, and the path to success is long, winding and sometimes even treacherous. The very large majority of open-source MT efforts fail because they do not consistently produce output that is equal to, or better than, any easily accessed public MT solution or because they cannot be deployed effectively. This is not to say that this is not possible, but the investments and long-term commitment required for success are often underestimated or simply not properly understood. A case can always be made for private systems that offer greater control and security, even if they are generally less accurate than public MT options.