Developing a new CAI-tool for RSI Interpreters’ Training: a pilot study

Over the past few years, new technologies in the field of Interpreting have greatly reshaped the way interpreters work, leading to a technological turn in Simultaneous Interpreting (Fantinuoli 2018), due to the increasing use of Remote Simultaneous Interpreting (RSI) and Computer Assisted Interpreting Tools (CAI tools). When there is no human boothmate, AI-based CAI-tools are becoming “artificial boothmates” (Fantinuoli 2017), which support the interpreter before and while they deliver Simultaneous Interpreting services through automatic terminology lookup, key term identification, automatic speech recognition, real-time speech transcription, and number highlighting. While a few researchers have investigated the field of Computer Assisted Interpreting, e.g. Fantinuoli (2017; 2018; 2019), Prandi (2018; 2020), Frittella (2022; 2023) and Defrancq (2020), more research into Computer Assisted Interpreting Training is needed, so that new technologies may be integrated into interpreter training and workflow, given their potential to help interpreters face this technological breakthrough. This pilot study, conducted within the IULM research project “Collaboration for translation and interpreting: tools and teaching applications”, focuses on investigating the training of interpreting students on these new technologies in collaboration with the RSI-platform Converso Education by integrating the RSI-platform with a new CAI tool specifically developed for teaching purposes. To the best of our knowledge, this RSI-platform with CAI tool specifically developed for interpreting students based on their needs is the first of its kind.