By Paula Arellano Geoffroy, 28 April 2026
Translator, editor and interpreter Liz Cross became SENSE Chair a year ago in March 2025, and she has been balancing her duties with a hard-working schedule for the Society ever since. In the following interview she tells us how this year has been and how she perceives the future of the language profession will unfold.
I understand that you became a SENSE member at least a decade ago. Is this correct?
I joined SENSE in 1999. I was going through the telephone directory, cold calling translation agencies for work. One of the numbers on my list was a SENSE member (I think it was David Alexander but it’s so long ago I’m not 100% sure anymore). He said that he had no work for me, but that I should join SENSE, as being a member had really helped him.
You have supported SENSE many times before, but last year you decided to volunteer for Chair. What prompted you to stand up? How has your experience been?
Sally Hill, the outgoing Chair, called me to say that there were two vacant Executive Committee (EC) positions: Chair and Treasurer. I’m not great with numbers, so being Treasurer was not an option. I gave the matter some thought and said yes when Sally called back a few days later. SENSE has been very good to me, and I wanted to give something back. More selfishly, I also thought that this might be a good opportunity to develop some new skills.
How have you balanced chairing and working on different projects?
One very positive thing about the past year is that I’ve been working with a lovely, cooperative EC and amazing Team Leaders. The lack of friction has made my life as Chair a lot easier. Some periods are busier than others, such as the run up to the Special General Meeting last November, and the recent AGM. One thing that has made it more difficult to combine work with being Chair is the fact that most of my work last year came from interpreting, rather than translating and editing. After missing out on an important assignment because it clashed with an EC meeting, I asked the other EC members if they would mind switching our EC meetings to the weekend, and I was very grateful when everyone agreed to this.
Have you felt a change in work demand last year?
When I agreed to become Chair in March 2025, my business had been a satisfying mix of translating, editing and interpreting work for over 20 years. I’d lost one translation client in January to ChatGPT, but the past few years had been very successful, so I wasn’t too worried. By September 2025, however, I felt as though my business had fallen off a cliff. I still have some valued translation and editing clients, and I am working on finding more. But in answer to your question, I have definitely noticed a change in work demand! I’m not sure if I should be admitting to this as Chair, but I know that I am not the only member of SENSE affected this way.
How do you perceive AI is changing the language profession in general? How is this affecting interpreting work in particular?
I’d like to start off by saying that AI is affecting a great deal more than just the language profession. It uses enormous amounts of energy, and it takes gargantuan amounts of water to cool the data centres. Having scraped and stolen the work of writers and translators from all over the internet, AI is now feeding off its own dubious content. In case you haven’t guessed, I’m not a huge fan. But what does this mean when we zoom in on our own industry? I can’t say too much yet about how AI will affect interpreting. Much of my work involves simultaneous interpreting for focus groups, and so far, AI has not worked out how to simultaneously translate groups of six to eight people chatting enthusiastically, while conveying the emotions behind their words. Nor does it liaise with clients and fill them in on anything they may not have understood. Things can change quickly though. There always used to be a note-taker at each focus group to type up the session in Dutch, but this job disappeared virtually overnight because of AI.
In uncertain times, organizations often serve as safe places for professionals to find resources, support, new opportunities and networking. Are you optimistic about the future? What can SENSE offer our members and the public?
I think that SENSE has many talented, inspiring members who are full of great ideas. I’m also aware that many members do not share my views on AI, and that whatever we think of AI, we can’t just ignore it and hope that it will go away. I think one way to help SENSE members would be to organize workshops on how to use it. We also want to organize marketing sessions. There are some very good resources out there, including trainers like Joe Lépine, who are helping translators to negotiate this shifting environment. I am cautiously optimistic that there is still a place for language professionals. Many members of SENSE are still thriving as translators and editors, while others have pivoted to new careers within the language industry, such as writing. I also felt encouraged recently when a friend told me that one of her clients had forbidden her to use AI when translating books. I would love to hear more from other members on how they are negotiating the changing language industry, as it is more important than ever to share our knowledge and experiences. At the end of the day, SENSE is run by volunteers, so we need more members to present workshops, and speak at our Special Interest Groups (SIGs). We need to pull together.
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Blog post by: Paula Arellano Geoffroy |
