Machine translation inching toward human quality

The goal of reaching near-human quality translation probably depends on some degree of pre- and post-editing for years to come. But, the growing number of global corporations (such as Philips, Samsung, and HP) and international agencies and institutions (such as the UN and the European Commission) using the technology illustrates that machine translation - the first nonnumerical application of AI - is finally delivering practical solutions. Popular perception of MT has suffered from low-quality "gisting" translation that Web-based translation engines, such as Babelfish and other online services, generate. But MT engines designed for limited domains, and tailor-made systems that use controlled language, are already delivering services.