In my last post, I talked about the "murky aquarium" – the uncomfortable truth that "Pure Human Translation" has become an illusion in the world of AI, big volumes, tight deadlines, and poorly paid humans.

So, do we become modern-day Luddites, smashing the servers and demanding a return to a past that no longer exists? No. We stop fighting the current or pretending the water isn't murky, and instead, we build a robust, sophisticated multi-stage filter to make it clear.

Stop asking for "Pure Human Translation" (which often hides secret AI use) and start demanding a solid process that produces reliable, transparent quality. At Logrus IT, we’ve created a new framework we call PRISM. It’s our way of moving from an opaque [aquarium] black box to a transparent glass one.

Here is how it breaks down:
🔹 P — Pre-translation: We start with the solid foundation of Translation Memories.
🔹 R — Raw MT/AI: We responsibly use technology for the remaining pieces.
🔹 I — Improvement: We use context-aware AI to clean, align terminology, and fix consistency issues.
🔹 S — Specialist Review: Human experts are not removed! They ensure the final editing, fixes, nuance, tone, and cultural fit.
🔹 M — Metric-based QA: A hybrid of AI and “traditional” software quality checks to catch what human eyes might overlook.

Why does this matter? Because it kills the lie. It eliminates the risk of a translator secretly using Google Translate on a secure document and replaces it with a reliable process with multiple stages and all required checks and balances.

It also solves the "Lite MTPE" conundrum/placement. For this type of service, we can simply omit the human review stage (PRIMe only) and offer lower rates, while still providing a structured, verifiable workflow that includes multiple automated stages. This distinction positions the complete PRISM process well above “Lite MTPE” (PRIMe) in terms of quality and trust.

The technology works, all components as well as the quality are there. But here's the conundrum: How do we charge for this? The traditional "rate per word" approach may not fit well... Is it hourly? Per project?

We are still figuring out the perfect formula where nobody suffers, and everybody wins. I’d love to hear your thoughts: If the wordcount is dead as an effort metric, what should replace it? (Please provide details 😊)