Enhancing international research through alternative back translation methods leveraging artificial intelligence

This exploratory study investigates the accuracy of AI-assisted translation and back-translation processes in comparison with human translators, focusing on three major East Asian languages: Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. Leveraging AI tools such as ChatGPT and DeepL, this research explores different translation methods, including AI–human and human–AI collaborations, and evaluates the impact of subjective interpretation in human translations. Results reveal that AI consistently outperforms human translators in terms of accuracy, especially in Chinese translations, which demonstrated the highest accuracy across all methods. The study also highlights the cost-effectiveness and speed of AI tools while acknowledging the importance of cultural context and human review to ensure translations make sense to native speakers. These findings provide valuable insights for international human resource development (HRD) research, particularly in survey translation strategies and the evolving role of AI in this field.