Is the term "localization" actually holding the industry back? In this episode, Georg Ell, CEO of Phrase, discusses the company’s massive repositioning from a traditional localization platform to a "Language Intelligence Platform."

He explains why talking to executives about "translation quality" usually loses the room and why the industry must shift its focus toward "Intent Proximity"—ensuring that multilingual content actually achieves its underlying business goal. Discover why Phrase is moving beyond translation, how headless distribution is changing the way business units interact with language tools, and why treating AI agents as true colleagues is the ultimate competitive advantage.

By Serge Gladkoff

Scientists recently documented the breakdown of a chimpanzee community into warring factions following the decline of internal interaction. The discovery is a dark reminder that when agents of connection — like translators and interpreters — disappear, humans are all too capable of the same social disintegration.

By Christine Clay

Human input is vital for the quality of AI-driven localization, shifting its role from post-editing to system design. The author details ways to improve consistency and accuracy, refine performance, and help a system scale by using structured feedback loops, translation memory, and style guides.

By Gabriela Kouahla 

Not all language tasks are created equal. Depending on the intended outcome, each project requires a different rationale to achieve the best result at the right cost.

By Ana Catarina Lopes, Ana Sofia Correia, Mariana Teixeira, and Patrícia Paes de Sousa

There’s strength in numbers, and that applies to freelancers, too. Despite its individualistic and independent nature, freelancing can still benefit from a collaborative partnership to find work, share skills, boost revenue, and foster community.

By Ema Dantas 

With the emergence of AI platforms, data sovereignty has become a new buzzword. But for language service providers to emerge stronger from this transitional era, they have to understand their technology and preserve the fundamentals of quality work.

Interview by Cameron Rasmusson

RWS, one of the world’s biggest language companies, stands at a crossroads like much of the industry. With technological change rewriting marketplace rules, how does recently appointed CEO Benjamin Faes plan to guide the business through a pivotal era?

By Cameron Rasmusson

The Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS), a historic leader in language education, faces closure due to financial difficulties. Currently, MIIS and Soka University of America are in talks regarding a potential acquisition that could preserve the institution’s future programs.

By Tim Brookes

Hiragana (Japan), Amkeul (Korea), Vaybertaytsh (Eastern Europe), and Dedabruli (Georgia) — predominantly used by women, emerged from gender inequality and cultural suppression, enabling women to communicate privately and record their experiences and concealed emotions.

The language industry is built around communication, culture, and human connection. Yet many of the conversations shaping the industry today focus on technology, automation, workflows, and growth, while leaving less room to examine the human experience of the people working within it.

This panel explores what it means to build an industry where professionals do not simply work together, but genuinely feel they belong.