37.3606, Confs: Racing the Machine or Reclaiming the Narrative: Human Agency in a Tech- Driven Profession (Belgium)

Tue Nov 3 16:05:02 UTC 2026

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-3606. Tue 03 Nov 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.3606, Confs: Racing the Machine or Reclaiming the Narrative: Human Agency in a Tech- Driven Profession (Belgium)

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Date: 02-Nov-2026
From: Sonja Janssens [sonja.janssens at ulb.be]
Subject: Racing the Machine or Reclaiming the Narrative: Human Agency in a Tech- Driven Profession

Racing the Machine or Reclaiming the Narrative: Human Agency in a
Tech- Driven Profession
Short Title: CIUTIBXL27
Theme: Translation studies

Date: 20-May-2027 - 21-May-2027
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Contact: Sonja Janssens
Contact Email: ciutibxl27 at ulb.be

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics; Computational Linguistics;
Language Documentation; Text/Corpus Linguistics; Translation
Subject Language(s): English (eng, stan1293)
                     French (fra, stan1290)

Submission Deadline: 29-Jan-2027

This international conference brings together translation scholars,
professionals and trainers to place human agency at the centre of
reflection on contemporary translation in a rapidly transforming
language services sector.
The notion of “racing the machine” captures the sense of urgency
currently felt across the translation and interpreting professions, as
technological innovation advances at a pace that often appears to
outstrip human adaptation. In this framing, professionals, trainers
and institutions risk being positioned in a reactive mode,
continuously adjusting to new tools and workflows rather than actively
shaping their integration.
The phrase “reclaiming the narrative” foregrounds human agency not as
competition with technology, but as the capacity to critically
appropriate, guide and reframe it. While the characterisation of
translation as a “tech-driven profession” is itself open to
discussion, the increasing role of technology means that agency
increasingly resides in the ability to set boundaries, define quality
standards and articulate the value of human judgement in contexts
where automation is expanding.
Rather than a binary opposition between humans and machines, the
challenge becomes one of co-construction, in which all stakeholders
actively participate in shaping how technologies are embedded in
professional workflows, training and policy. Reclaiming the narrative
thus implies remaining open to technological change but engaging with
it in ways that preserve critical oversight, ethical responsibility
and professional identity.
The current pace of technological change in translation calls for
coordinated and forward-looking action across multiple fronts. Machine
translation and generative AI are evolving rapidly, while training
programmes, professional practices and regulatory frameworks adapt at
uneven speeds. This situation creates both challenges and
opportunities, particularly with regard to ensuring that translator
education remains closely aligned with professional realities.
In this context, the conference seeks to provide an international
forum for interdisciplinary, critical, empirically grounded and
theoretically informed contributions examining the impact of
artificial intelligence on translation as a practice, a profession and
an educational field.
While translator education is an important strand of the discussion,
the aim is to extend the conversation beyond translation didactics to
encompass the broader professional, technological, institutional,
ethical and societal questions raised by AI.
The diversity of positions within the translation community, including
calls for greater caution around AI adoption, forms an integral part
of this debate and points to the need for a measured and critically
informed approach.
The conference therefore welcomes contributions that engage with these
challenges and advance our understanding of AI’s evolving role in
translation, drawing on perspectives from across translation studies
and related areas of inquiry.
Conference Themes:
We invite submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following
themes:
 - Historical, contemporary and future developments in machine
translation technologies
 - The implications of technological development for translation
theory
 - Translator training, curriculum design and pedagogical innovation
in the age of AI
 - Quality norms, evaluation frameworks and “fit-for-purpose”
translation
 - Accessibility
 - Reconfigurations of professional identity (translator, post-editor,
language specialist)
 - Translation policy, governance and institutional responses to AI
integration
In addition to the contributions selected through this open call, the
conference programme will feature panel sessions organised by the
CIUTI Board.
Abstract Submission:
We invite proposals, in English or French, for individual research
papers and posters which will be presented in a dedicated session.
Abstracts should not exceed 300 words, excluding references.
Authors submitting a paper proposal are also invited to indicate
whether they would be willing to present their work as a poster should
no slot be available in the main programme.
All submissions will undergo anonymous peer review to assess their
academic quality, relevance to the conference themes and clarity of
presentation.
Individual presentations will be allocated 20 minutes, followed by 10
minutes for questions and discussion.
Detailed guidelines for poster preparation will be provided upon
acceptance.
How to Submit Your Abstract:
Step 1 — Create an account
If you do not already have a SciencesCONF account, register at:
https://www.sciencesconf.org/
Step 2 — Submit your abstract
Log in and submit your abstract via the conference website:
https://ciutibxl2027.sciencesconf.org/
Important Dates:
29 January 2027 — Abstract submission deadline
26 February 2027 — Notification of acceptance 23 April 2027 —
Registration deadline
20–21 May 2027 — CIUTIBXL27 International Conference, Université libre
de Bruxelles, Brussels
Conference Fees:
Regular participants: €130
Students: €90
The registration fee includes the conference pack, book of abstracts,
lunches and coffee
breaks.
Organising Committee:
Valérie Crate, Frédéric Lohest, Géraldine Lonnoy, Jean-Manuel Roy,
Sabine Schmitz, Lieven Buysse, Bart Defrancq, Sonja Janssens, Alba
Ocampo Lago (Chair of the Organising Committee).
Scientific Committee:
Lieven Buysse, Bart Defrancq, Damien Hansen, Marie-Aude Lefer, Valérie
Bada, Gudrun Vanderbauwhede, Dorothy Kenny, Joss Moorkens, Koen
Kerremans, Isabelle Collombat, Pierrette Bouillon, Kilian Seeber, Anja
Rutten, Alina Secara, Wen Ren, Barbara Ahrens, Jan Louis Kruger, Renee
Jourdenais, Chris Mellinger, Sonja Janssens (Chair of the Scientific
Committee).
Contact:
For questions or additional information, please write to
ciutibxl27 at ulb.be.
The oiicial conference website will be launched in due course,
providing further information and updates about the conference.

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