Are AI Translation Tools Putting Your Organization at Risk?

The convenience of AI translation comes with serious security implications that could cost your organization far more than you imagine.

There’s No Such Thing as “Free” Translation

AI translation platforms are rapidly transforming cross-cultural communication in seemingly every field. Tools like Google Translate, DeepL, Microsoft Translator, and ChatGPT make it easier than ever to break down language barriers. This convenience isn’t without its drawbacks. It’s commonly said that when something online is free, you’re not the customer, you’re the product.
 

The truth is that translation tools like the ones above may not cost money, but they do come at a price—your data, intellectual property, reputation, credibility, and possible future.

The Limitations of AI Translation

The limitations of AI translation are well documented. The translations they provide are generally fine for casual use and conversation, but inadequate for consequential content—whether it’s legal contracts, medical records, financial documents, spec sheets, or marketing campaigns. 
 

The issue with AI translation is how the systems work. AI translations don’t understand language. Rather, AI predicts patterns based on massive datasets. While this is passable for casual use and conversation, AI translation struggles with the complex and specialized content, which can lead to:

• Inaccuracy: AI struggles with tone, idioms, cultural nuance, and technical terminology.
• Unpredictability: A slight change in phrasing can yield completely different outputs.
• Hallucination: When AI doesn’t know an answer, it often “makes up” content that looks correct but is wrong.

Any of the flaws listed above can create huge issues. The fact is, AI translations without expert human oversight aren’t reliable. A mistranslated clause in a contract, a misunderstood medical note, or a fabricated technical detail can result in costly errors, lost credibility, or even legal action.

Five Critical Risks of AI Translation

AI translation risks aren’t theoretical—they’re real, and they affect multiple industries.

1. Data Leaks and Cybersecurity Breaches

Free AI translation tools often lack robust security and store data indefinitely, which makes them a prime target for hackers. It doesn’t take something as sinister as hacking for confidential information input into an AI translator to become public. Consider the case of the Statoil (now Equinor), Norway’s state oil company, which had contracts, workforce reduction plans, dismissal letters, and more end up online because its employees had used a free translation tool.
 

Statoil/Equinor isn’t alone in running into issues using AI. While not the case of using AI translation, the South Korean electronics giant Samsung banned the use of ChatGPT after an engineer uploaded sensitive code to the platform. Other prominent companies have also blocked internal use of AI, including:
 

• JPMorgan Chase
• Northrop Grumman
• Apple
• Verizon
• Spotify
   

Industries like law firms, financial institutions, and healthcare providers are all at risk of data leaks and cybersecurity breaches.

2. Unauthorized Third-Party Data Sharing

The terms of service on free translation platforms offer a broad license to use your content as they wish. Remember, when something online is free, you—or, in this case, your data—are the product. Just think, the corporate strategy you uploaded could become training data for AI algorithms, or a customer’s sensitive personal information could be regurgitated in the future by a chatbot.
 

It’s also worth remembering that this information could be shared on servers spread across the globe—opening the door for hackers, unauthorized access, or simply unintended exposure.

3. Intellectual Property Loss

As mentioned above, free translation services may store and reuse your content indefinitely. This not only takes control of your sensitive, valuable, and/or proprietary knowledge out of your hands, but raises questions of ownership.
 

Who owns an AI-generated translation? The user, the company, or no one at all? Currently, the answer is murky, which exposes you to the threat of potential IP disputes.

4. Regulatory and Compliance Violations

A number of fields are governed by regulations about how to handle sensitive information, and using insecure AI translation services can put you at risk of non-compliance and open you up to fines, legal troubles, and loss of reputation. Notable regulations safeguarding personal information include:
 

• HIPAA: Healthcare providers translating patient records through non-compliant tools risk massive penalties.
• GDPR: European data protection violations can result in fines up to €20 million or 4%—whichever is higher—of annual revenue.
• FERPA: Educational institutions sharing student records may violate privacy laws.

Further industry-specific compliance risks include:
 

• Legal Services: Uploading client contracts into a free tool can breach attorney-client privilege and/or result in professional misconduct investigations.
• Healthcare: Translating patient records through non-compliant tools may lead to HIPAA violations, leading to regulatory penalties and loss of patient trust.
• Corporations: Feeding corporate information into unsecured platforms may lead to regulatory scrutiny, compliance violations, leaked intellectual property, and/or negative media coverage.
• Education: Student records run through free translators may clash with FERPA requirements.
   

In addition to multinational, national, and industry-specific regulations, you also need to be aware of regional laws governing AI use, for example, the California Consumer Privacy Act, which gives California residents a certain amount of control over the data businesses collect about them.

5. Legal Liability and Exposure

One shortcoming of AI translation is that it fails to adequately translate technical, industry-specific terminology, cultural nuance, idiomatic expressions, and, in general, complex language and grammar. This is something to consider in fields where a single mistranslated clause in a contract, safety guideline, or compliance document could result in anything from costly legal repercussions to financial losses to negative patient outcomes (in the case of healthcare).
 

In the end, trust and confidentiality are the cornerstones of professionals in law, healthcare, and education, and AI translations puts those foundational qualities in jeopardy.

Where AI Translation Works

Although AI translation poses a variety of threats, it’s not always hazardous. AI translation is best implemented in low-risk scenarios and with non-sensitive, low-complexity, non-regulated materials. Some examples include casual conversations and team meetings, general or training sessions, or simple summaries.
 

When handling high-stakes content, AI translation is just too risky. In these cases, it’s vital to use an expert human translator who understands industry-specific language, context, cultural nuance, and compliance.

Translations ABC

Free AI translation tools are quick and convenient, but they’re not built for sensitive or high-stakes content—sometimes, “free” comes at a cost your business can’t afford to pay. Over the past 36+ years, Translations ABC has built a reputation for delivering the highest quality translations while protecting your most valuable asset: your data.
 

Translations ABC provides services in more than 200 languages, covering fields from business to healthcare to education, and everything in between. More importantly, we deliver the trust demanded by sectors working with sensitive data. With Translations ABC, you can trust that your content will be translated accurately and your data kept secure.