Google Translate learns how to translate from the internet. Its ‘data miners’ scout the public web for data from which to learn. Along with language, AI learns that the number of male mechanics are more than that of female mechanics, and that the number of female nurses eclipses that of male nurses. It cannot differentiate between what is ‘true’ and what is a result of stereotyping and other prejudices. Thus, Google Translate ends up propagating what it learns, cementing stereotypes further1:

Under-utilisation of technology due to fear and ignorance Indiscriminate use that might lead to undesirable secondary effects

As for the task itself, yes, AI can perform some tasks better than humans. But even a child can beat the best AI in many others. AI has a long way to go before being able to supplant a human in a rich cognitive, social and cultural activity such as teaching. But it can help by adding to what a teacher is capable of doing. Experts speak of “An Augmented Human“3, which, in our case,