Dutch publisher’s AI translation experiment sparks debate – Simon & Schuster’s subsidiary plans machine translations for commercial fiction, raising concerns about quality and industry impact.
The Netherlands’ largest publisher, Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK), has announced plans to use AI to translate commercial fiction books. VBK is owned by Simon & Schuster, one of the largest publishers in the world, leaving many authors and translators wondering if the publishing giant is hoping to explore more AI applications across divisions.
This artificial intelligence translation project was set in motion by a series of acquisitions. First, private equity firm KKR purchased Simon & Schuster in August 2023. At the time of the sale, KKR expressed an intention to help Simon & Schuster expand into international markets, especially Europe. Simon & Schuster then bought Veen Bosch & Keuning in May 2024 and announced the AI translation project in late November 2024.
