Chapter 9

Conference interpreting and technology

2020 and 2021 have been hugely disruptive years for conference interpreting. A global health pandemic has been a catalyst for the deployment of technological solutions, and given renewed impetus to new and innovative forms of service delivery. In the midst of this huge paradigm shift in the external environment, public institutions with interpreting services have reacted either by adopting an accelerated rate of technological innovation, or by compromising on their commitment to the provision of multilingual meetings.

The transition out of this crisis mode will require a deep and levelheaded examination of the future of conference interpreting, both in the institutional sector and in the wider context. The difficulties of delivering a high-quality service during an epidemiological outbreak have thrown a spotlight on the business continuity shortcomings of conventional interpretation provision, but leave some key questions still to be answered. Most notably, whether and in what manner remote interpreting should be sustained in a routine business environment.

At the same time, a burgeoning external market for hybrid and remote meetings, combined with growing acceptance among high-quality conference interpreters, who are increasingly familiar with remote interpreting, may democratise and improve the accessibility of interpreting services to a broader number of clients, to the benefit of language availability at international meetings.

This paper gives the perspective of the European Parliament’s interpreting service on the key trends and obstacles to overcome in the short to mid-term.