Google Translate and confidentiality Thread poster: Samuel Murray
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Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 10:14
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
G'day everyone
Some translators are concerned with confidentiality when using Google Translate, but is there any specific information anywhere on the web about whether Google stores the stuff you upload and/or make it available to the public at some point? My own logic tells me that Google has nothing to gain from harvesting its own MT output, and there is no shortage of typical source texts on the web, so why would Google want to store it and/or reuse it? Isn't the whole point of... See more G'day everyone
Some translators are concerned with confidentiality when using Google Translate, but is there any specific information anywhere on the web about whether Google stores the stuff you upload and/or make it available to the public at some point? My own logic tells me that Google has nothing to gain from harvesting its own MT output, and there is no shortage of typical source texts on the web, so why would Google want to store it and/or reuse it? Isn't the whole point of statistical MT that it improves when fed with real translation? What benefit could there possibly be for Google Translate to feed itself its own translations, then?
Thanks
Samuel ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Data mining... adding better transltions... | Sep 10, 2009 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
Some translators are concerned with confidentiality when using Google Translate, but is there any specific information anywhere on the web about whether Google stores the stuff you upload and/or make it available to the public at some point?
My own logic tells me that Google has nothing to gain from harvesting its own MT output,
IMHO you're right.
and there is no shortage of typical source texts on the web, so why would Google want to store it and/or reuse it?
The source may be stored for data mining.
The text you send to translate may contain valuable informations.
Isn't the whole point of statistical MT that it improves when fed with real translation? What benefit could there possibly be for Google Translate to feed itself its own translations, then?
None.
But you may click the button "Contribute a better transltion" (available in the standard Google Translate interface) and and improve the quality.
Of course, if you want to do it
Cheers
GG
| | | | Quamrul Islam
Local time: 14:14
Member (2009)
English to Bengali
+ ...
| I agree with you. | Sep 10, 2009 |
Hello Samuel,
I completely agree with your arguments that Google should have no interest in collecting arbitrary source texts along with its own machine translation. However, I have a question to all - it is at least possible that Google collects only the source texts (and not the MT output) to enrich its database of source terms in any particular language?
Thanks
Quamrul
| | | | | Source text is the key | Sep 10, 2009 |
Hi,
As a CAT tool developer I can tell you that the translation is not important, the source text is invaluable.
We need source documents to improve parsers, segmenters and many other details. If you provide fragments of a document you are still contributing a lot.
If you signed an NDA with your client, you cannot provide the source text to anyone. Don't use a web-based Machine Translation engine unless you are the owner of the engine.
Regards,... See more Hi,
As a CAT tool developer I can tell you that the translation is not important, the source text is invaluable.
We need source documents to improve parsers, segmenters and many other details. If you provide fragments of a document you are still contributing a lot.
If you signed an NDA with your client, you cannot provide the source text to anyone. Don't use a web-based Machine Translation engine unless you are the owner of the engine.
Regards,
Rodolfo ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 10:14
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Rodolfo Raya wrote:
We need source documents to improve parsers, segmenters and many other details. If you provide fragments of a document you are still contributing a lot. ... If you signed an NDA with your client, you cannot provide the source text to anyone.
Not all NDAs are the same, so one can't really say "if NDA then no Google Translate". Whether it is breach of confidentiality to upload content to an automated online text processing service is for every translator to determine. The question about whether it is a breach of NDA has been discussed many times.
My question here is whether anyone knows for certain if Google will or will not (at some stage) make the submitted information public (in part or in whole). I mean, if my NDAs permit me to submit my source texts to a non-disseminating text processing service, then my only concern would be whether Google Translate is disseminating or non-disseminating.
| | | | | Google Terms of Service... | Sep 10, 2009 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
My question here is whether anyone knows for certain if Google will or will not (at some stage) make the submitted information public (in part or in whole). I mean, if my NDAs permit me to submit my source texts to a non-disseminating text processing service, then my only concern would be whether Google Translate is disseminating or non-disseminating. [/quote]
Quoting Google:
11. Content licence from you
11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive licence to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This licence is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.
11.2 You agree that this licence includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organisations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.
11.3 You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this licence shall permit Google to take these actions.
11.4 You confirm and warrant to Google that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the above licence.
Adopt the worse scenario.
Cheers
GG
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 10:14
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Grzegorz Gryc wrote:
Quoting Google:
11. Content licence from you...
Adopt the worse scenario.
The quote comes from the agreement that you sign with Google when you open a Google account. The Google Translate service is not available only to people who have Google accounts.
But you raise an interesting point -- doesn't this mean that any translator with a Gmail account is in breach of his NDAs?
| | | | | Just a side-note... | Sep 10, 2009 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
own logic tells me that Google has nothing to gain from harvesting its own MT output, and there is no shortage of typical source texts on the web, so why would Google want to store it and/or reuse it? [...][/quote]
Sorry for the sidetrack, but this discussion reminded me of a podcast I recently heard on NPR (National Public Radio) titled "Who Really Owns Your Digital Data?"
Here is a quote from that podcast: "The other thing is that disk storage is incredibly cheap. So there's actually no reason anymore to delete any data. We don't really have reason to delete data at home. We can buy a terabyte disk for $100, and similarly, Google and Yahoo and Microsoft have no need to delete any data." (See http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111421072 .)
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| The translator takes the responsibility | Sep 10, 2009 |
Rodolfo's Swordfish allows you to upload only one sentence at a time to Google Translate through the GT plugin.
So the translator takes the responsibility whether to upload a particular sentence/segment or not.
Regards
Piotr
[Edited at 2009-09-10 15:00 GMT]
| | | | Adam Łobatiuk
Poland
Local time: 10:14
Member (2009)
English to Polish
+ ...
| Doesn't need to be just statistical | Sep 10, 2009 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
Isn't the whole point of statistical MT that it improves when fed with real translation? What benefit could there possibly be for Google Translate to feed itself its own translations, then?
The selling point of Google Translate is not being a 'statistical MT', but just an MT. It might combine statistical methods with submitted human translations that could be given a higher priority by the system. Users are not interested in the sources of a translation.
By the way, do Swordfish and Wordfast actually submit edited machine translations back to Google or just the source? I suspect that the MT in SDL Trados might submit both, and they are a translation company that could use them for their own purposes, but fortunately it doesn't even support my language yet.
| | | | | Swordfish sends source only | Sep 10, 2009 |
Adam Łobatiuk wrote:
By the way, do Swordfish and Wordfast actually submit edited machine translations back to Google or just the source?
Swordfish sends only source text, without any formatting (all tags are removed before contacting Google's server).
As Piotr said, translators control when to send requests to Google from within Swordfish.
Regards,
Rodolfo
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