Latest news with #FacultyofArtsandHumanities
Yemenat
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Yemenat
?Political Translation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Can Machines Be Biased
Assistant Lecturer, Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Sana'a University, Yemen, and PhD Candidate in Translation and Artificial Intelligence In the digital era, political translation has emerged as a powerful force in crafting narratives, conveying ideological discourse, and shaping collective perceptions across borders. With the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence and the growing prominence of machine translation tools like Google Translate, DeepL, ChatGPT, Deepseek, Gemini, etc. reliance on automated systems has reached unprecedented levels. Yet this progress invites a pressing question: Are these machines neutral agents? Or can artificial intelligence, by nature or design, be biased when translating politically charged content? The Invisibility of Bias: Can Machines Be Truly Objective? While AI systems are often perceived as impartial, they learn from vast datasets created by humans, datasets that inherently carry cultural, political, and ideological assumptions. This means machine outputs reflect the biases, blind spots, and power dynamics embedded in the original content. Consider the phrase 'المقاومة الفلسطينية' ('Palestinian Resistance'). Some AI translation systems render it as 'Palestinian Resistance,' capturing its nationalistic connotation, while others convert it to 'Palestinian Terrorism,' a drastically different framing that invokes international criminality and strips the term of its sociopolitical context. Likewise, the word 'شهيد' (martyr) is often translated as 'the deceased' or simply 'killed,' diminishing its deeply held cultural, spiritual, and ideological significance. Real-World Cases of Linguistic Distortion by Human Translators and Adopted by AI Systems: Biased translations are not merely theoretical. In 2021, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke on the Palestinian cause, his statement 'القدس خط أحمر بالنسبة لنا' ('Jerusalem is a red line for us') was mistranslated in international media as 'Jerusalem is important to us' a softened version that diluted the strength and urgency of Turkey's stance. The phrase'العملايات الاستشهادية', 'Martyrdom Operations' offers another clear illustration. Often used in certain cultural contexts to signify sacrifice, it is commonly rendered in Western media as 'Suicide Bombings,' a term that repositions the act within a narrative of violence and fanaticism. Depending on the translator's cultural or ideological lens, the action is reframed as either resistance or terrorism a pivotal distinction in shaping global perception. Political translation becomes especially fraught in contexts of ongoing conflict. Take the term 'جدار الفصل العنصري' ('Apartheid Wall'), commonly used by Palestinians to describe the Israeli separation barrier. Israeli narratives often refer to the same structure as a 'Security Barrier.' The former phrase evokes racial segregation and moral indictment; the latter emphasizes protection and pragmatism. Thus, translation doesn't merely carry meaning, it crafts political reality. The Arabic term 'انتفاضة' (Intifada) faces a spectrum of translations: 'uprising' highlights popular resistance, 'revolt' implies rebellion, while 'violent riots' reduces it to disorder. Each label carries ideological weight, affecting how audiences interpret the legitimacy and nature of collective action. Historical memory is also subject to semantic reshaping. 'النكبة' (Nakba), denoting the 1948 forced displacement of Palestinians, is sometimes diluted in translation to 'The 1948 Palestinian Exodus,' reframing a catastrophic event into a seemingly voluntary or inevitable migration. Similarly, 'حق العودة' ('Right of Return') a legal and moral cornerstone of Palestinian discourse, is occasionally rendered as a 'Request' or 'Demand,' minimizing its legitimacy and eroding its rhetorical force on the international stage. Even seemingly straightforward terms like 'المستوطنات' ('Settlements') are at risk of distortion. When translated as 'Neighborhoods,' the term sheds its colonial, legal, and political implications, offering a sanitized narrative of urban development. Meanwhile, 'التطهير العرقي' ('Ethnic Cleansing') has at times been softened to 'Displacement,' a term that downplays the systemic nature and severity of the crime. Beyond Language: The Ethics of Translation in the AI Age The abovementioned examples underscore a broader truth: AI does not invent meanings in isolation. It inherits and amplifies the linguistic and ideological biases embedded in its training data. Political language is inherently fraught, context-bound, and often contentious, realities that machines, without guidance, are ill-equipped to navigate on their own. The challenge, then, is not to discard machine translation, but to calibrate it. The way forward lies in a hybrid model where human translators, steeped in linguistic nuance and cultural literacy, collaborate with AI to ensure translations are not only technically correct but also ethically informed and contextually accurate. In brief, in an age increasingly defined by algorithms and automation, political translation remains an area where human insight is indispensable. Artificial intelligence is not immune to bias, especially when engaged with polarizing issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the Russia-Ukraine war. To prevent AI from becoming an unwitting agent of distortion, we must pair the precision of machines with the conscience of humanity. Only then can translation serve as a true bridge between cultures, rather than a battleground for competing narratives.
Business Recorder
26-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Dr Shazia made Dean of UAF Faculty of Arts & Humanities
FAISALABAD: Governor Punjab/Chancellor has appointed Prof Dr Shazia Ramzan, the Chairperson of Department of Islamic Studies as the Dean, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Agriculture Faisalabad. She is the founder dean of the faculty and has assumed the charge. She has profound experience in the academia and research work and author of five books and numerous research papers. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
News18
13-06-2025
- General
- News18
UK's University Of Sheffield Opens Applications For These Courses With Scholarship
Last Updated: The University of Sheffield, UK, is now accepting applications for its MSc Environmental Change and International Development course starting in September 2025. The University of Sheffield in the UK is now accepting applications for its MSc Environmental Change and International Development course, which begins in September 2025. This full-time course runs for one year and costs £27,670 (approximately Rs 32 lakh) for Indian students. To apply for this programme, candidates must have completed a three or four-year bachelor's degree from a recognised university, with a minimum score of 60 percent. The University accepts degrees in various fields, including Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Medicine, and Public Health. In addition, applicants must have an IELTS score of 6.5, with at least 6.0 in each section, or an equivalent qualification accepted by the University. The University of Sheffield is also offering the International Postgraduate Taught Scholarship 2025 for international students from certain regions, including India, who are enrolling in a taught master's programme starting in September 2025. This scholarship is worth £2,000 (around Rs 2.3 lakh) for students joining courses under the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the Faculty of Social Science. No separate application is needed for this scholarship; if applicants meet the eligibility and selection criteria, the scholarship will be automatically applied as a tuition fee discount. However, to receive this scholarship, applicants must have accepted their admission offer by 4 pm (UK time) on July 8, 2025. This programme allows students to customise their course based on their personal interests. The University provides a blend of academic excellence, professional skills training, an optional field class, and a research-based dissertation. Students may choose to conduct their dissertation through placements, research collaborations, or independent research. It is important to note that the costs of optional field classes and placements are not covered by the tuition fees. However, a limited amount of financial support is available to help with these expenses, which can be accessed through a competitive selection process. Additionally, students will spend six to eight weeks in June or July working with a host organisation. During this period, they will carry out a research project assigned by the organisation and approved by the University. The project will have practical importance, and the research findings will form the basis of the student's dissertation. Some students may also work directly on the core activities of the host organisation during this time.
Saba Yemen
29-05-2025
- General
- Saba Yemen
Researcher Ibrahim Zayed earns PhD with honors from Sana'a University
Sana'a - Saba: Researcher Ibrahim Mohammed Zayed has been awarded a PhD with Distinction and Honors from Sana'a University's Faculty of Arts and Humanities for his dissertation. The dissertation titled "The Transparent Essence Gathered from the Depths of the Scout (Part 3) - A Study and Verification of the Work by Scholar Abdullah bin Al-Hadi bin Imam Yahya bin Hamzah" covers Quranic analysis from Surah Saba' to Surah Ash-Shura. The examination committee chaired by Dr Mohammed Al-Ma'khadhi (supervisor) with members Dr Saeed Al-Haddad (external examiner) and Dr Huda Al-Ammad (internal examiner) unanimously praised the academic quality of the research. The committee recommended publishing the dissertation and sharing it with other universities noting its significant contribution to Islamic studies and Quranic exegesis Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Saba Yemen
14-02-2025
- Science
- Saba Yemen
PhD with distinction for researcher Zuhair Al-Faqih
Sana'a (Saba) - Researcher Zuhair Mohammed Hadi Al-Faqih obtained a PhD with distinction in Islamic Studies from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Sana'a University. The discussion committee praised the researcher's efforts and the results the thesis reached. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
