The latest news from ARC Writing and Translation Services

Industry updates

AI continues to dominate the headlines and pervade every aspect of our lives with its endless professional and personal applications. One thing we've all learnt this year is that it can be used as a time-saving tool and idea generation but it cannot replace humans in terms of emotional connection and creativity.

The Cambridge Dictionary recently declared "hallucinate" as its Word of the Year for 2023, in response to the surge in interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like #ChatGPT, #Bard and #Grok. These tools that employ large language models (LLMs), churn out prose but often deliver false, misleading or fabricated information, leading to what is now termed AI "hallucinations".

The updated definition by the Cambridge Dictionary acknowledges this, describing an AI "hallucination" as the production of false information. While these hallucinations can appear non-sensical, they can also seem plausible, resulting in real-world impacts, such as fictitious legal cases cited in court or factual errors in #Google's promotional video for #Bard.

The shift in perception towards anthropomorphising AI is evident, with the term "hallucinate" implying an agent (the AI) is experiencing a disconnect from reality. This linguistic choice reflects a subtle but profound shift in how we perceive AI, ascribing human-like attributes to these systems. The article highlights the importance of human expertise in creating reliable information for LLMs.

The ongoing challenge of addressing AI "hallucinations" may shape the future success and adoption of generative AI, with efforts from engineers and academics worldwide to minimise these issues through techniques like grounding and reinforcement learning from human feedback. Have you come across AI "hallucinations" this year? I know I have! See the section 'AI faux pas for the month' below for a recent example I encountered of an AI "hallucination".👇

Click here to read the full article.

The Young Lives Foundation

This month I have been helping to support Nicola Phillips in her quest to raise money for The Young Lives Foundation which supports children in the care system.

Canvass proudly supports The Young Lives Foundation throughout the year by donating each time they launch a new website.

This festive season Nicola Phillips has been busy crafting Christmas gnomes, some with a football twist, with hats in football team colours, with other colour options available.

I bought a couple of these in November when I saw Nicola Phillips at Property Connect Networking London Bridge and invited her to bring some gnomes along to my book launch. I bought one that is the same colours as my book. You can see it below on my Christmas tree.🎄👇

I'm delighted to say that she has raised an whopping£1300 (£120 of which was made at my book launch).

Well done Nicola Phillips for supporting such a worthy cause!

What have I been up to?

November kicked off with a short break in Morocco. It was my first trip to Africa and I enjoyed every minute of it!

Whilst there, I went on a camel ride in the desert and visited Marrakech with its bustling bazaar and found out a lot about Moroccan shoes.

For example, did you know that if they are round-toed and open at the back they are Berber in origin and if they are pointed and closed at the back they are Arabic? Can you tell the difference in the picture below?👞🥿

In terms of networking, I visited Property Connect Networking London Bridge and caught up with some regular attendees such as Nicola Phillips and the organiser Alex Butterworth and made some new connections, namely Gary Taylor Development/Commercial Real Estate and Natalie Taylor - Professional landscaping Services .

In my role as Launch DC, I have also been helping Miles Hurren to grow and develop the new BNI UK & Ireland Guildhall chapter which has nearly reached the required magic launch number of 17 members!

More locally, I enjoyed a convivial evening with local business owners who are part of the NANG group I co-founded earlier this year. We met for a couple of drinks and a catch-up at The Bear pub in Horsham.

I also continued to work with the leadership team of the BNI Language Power Team to grow our group and help provide quality language services worldwide.

The highlight of my month was on 28 November when I held my official book launch event at Patch St. Paul's in the heart of the City of London. I'm thrilled to say it couldn't have gone any better and I was so touched by how many people came out to support me on a dark, cold November evening.

AI faux pas for the month

While working on a translation from French into English I asked ChatGPT to explain what the acronym "EDP" means in the following sentence "Détails des EBP" in the context of clinical trials.

Its response was "EDC". I wasn't convinced that was correct so I queried it and received the following response: "I apologize for the confusion in my previous response. EBP and EDC are not the same. EBP typically stands for "Evidence-Based Practice," while EDC stands for "Electronic Data Capture" in the context of clinical trials. These are different concepts, and I provided an incorrect translation. Thank you for pointing that out."

This strikes me as a serious case of an AI "hallucination"!

BNI Global Language Power Team

Our group continues to thrive and pass business between the members in various language combinations. We span 4 continents (Europe, Asia, North and South America) but we would love to have some members from BNI Africa who provide language services. If you can help, please get in touch.

We welcome visitors from BNI and outside of BNI who trade internationally and require translation and interpreting services and other language services.

If you'd like to visit us we meet every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month for 1 hour at 13:30 GMT.

We're looking forward to welcoming our first visitor from Africa at our next meeting!

Did you know?

India has 22 official languages, the EU has 24 and the U.S. does not have an official language at federal level, although U.S. English is the de facto official language.

Click here for 30 fun facts about the English Language.

What have I learnt this month?

A lot of work goes into organising a book launch but with help and support from friends, family and colleagues you can achieve great things!

Shout out to…

Everyone who helped me ensure my book launch was a roaring success.

In particular, Elizabeth Keates my videographer/photographer, Laura Hurren , Jason Cornes , Philippa Hammond , Alison Hill Campbell and David Knight .

What’s new at ARC?

My book is now available for sale on Amazon, which means that I am now a full-fledged published author offering non-fiction ghostwriters to budding authors who want to get their books written in 2024 and out into the marketplace where they can start working for them to elevate their brand, increase their visibility and create a passive income stream.

Latest blog

This month my blog explores the benefits and ROI of writing a business book. Click here to read my latest blog: Boost your business with a book.

Recommended reading

Now that it has finally hit the shelves, well, in a virtual online bookstore sense, my recommended reading this month is... my book.

It includes lots of tips on how to think like a copywriter and improve your copywriting skills. It also offers practical advice on how to create another income stream by diversifying your business and then networking effectively and harnessing the power of social media to find your ideal clients.

Click here to grab your copy today.

Highlight of the month

Without a doubt, it was my book launch and the incredible support I received from my friends, family and associates.

Contact me

Do you have an interesting story or business insights to share in a book but don't have the time or inclination to write it yourself? I now offer non-fiction ghostwriting as a service to help business owners and entrepreneurs elevate their brand, increase their authority and visibility online and open doors to new speaking opportunities and higher-ticket clients.

Contact me to book a free 30-minute discovery call on Zoom at 👉 info@arc-wts.co.uk

Or do you need help developing a content strategy for your business?

Find out more about my copywriting packages and how they can help you grow your business👉 Click here

Download a copy of my portfolio 👉 here

Do you need a text translated from Italian, French or Spanish into English? Find out more about my translation services 👉here