AI and Audiovisual Translation: Challenges and New Horizons

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a transformative force across domains, reshaping professional practices, academic debates, and user experiences. Audiovisual Translation (AVT), with its multimodal and interdisciplinary nature, stands at the forefront of this transformation. AI-driven tools such as automatic speech recognition, machine translation, text-to-speech systems, synthetic voices and AI dubbing, among others, are redefining how AVT is conceived, produced, and consumed, from dubbing and subtitling to audio description (AD), subtitling for people who are d/Deaf or hard-ofhearing (SDH), voiceover, and live subtitling.

The connection between AI and AVT is now central not only to advancing research, but also to forging sustainable ties with the AVT industry. Cloud-based platforms, automated workflows, and AI-enhanced translation environments are revolutionising professional practice while reshaping student training. Preparing the next generation of audiovisual translators requires embedding AI literacy, practical competence, and industry collaboration into curricula to ensure a smooth transition into the professional world.

This conference invites scholars, students, practitioners, and industry stakeholders to explore, critically and concretely, the synergies and tensions between AI technologies and AVT. We aim to assess the state of the art, interrogate emerging challenges, and envision the future of AVT in a world increasingly shaped by automation and algorithmic mediation. Particular attention will be devoted to practical applications not only in the media and entertainment industries (film, television, streaming platforms, gaming), but also in the arts and cultural heritage sectors, such as museums, galleries, and live performance, where AI-enhanced AVT practices are opening unprecedented avenues for accessibility and cultural engagement. Focus will be also on the origins of the earliest chat systems within audiovisual and cinematic products. We welcome studies and research that foreground the historical significance of chats both as a digital tool and a writing/narrative device within audiovisual texts.

Keynote Speakers and Distinguished Guests

The conference is honoured to welcome leading national and international colleagues, whose presence will foster dialogue between established expertise, emerging research, and innovative practice, including:

• Giuseppe Balirano (Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”, Italy) – President, Associazione Italiana di Anglistica (AIA)

• Frederic Chaume (Universitat Jaume I, Spain)

• Elena Di Giovanni (Università di Macerata, Italy)

• Jorge Díaz Cintas (University College London, UK)

• Margherita Dore (Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy)

• Serenella Massidda (Università di Chieti-Pescara, Italy)

• Irene Ranzato (Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy) – AIA Board Member