Welcome to the LOCANUCU blog, your daily source for localization news you can actually use. In today's roundup for October 27, 2025, we're covering the major moves shaking up the industry. We'll look at the new CEO appointment at XTM and what it means for AI-driven localization. We're also examining a landmark decision by the EU Court of Justice to reject AI translation for a major tender, and how that feeds into the ongoing debate about AI versus human expertise, a topic being actively discussed by leaders like Diego Cresceri. Plus, we'll cover the "preparation gap" costing PMs time and margin, new tech recognitions for Intento, and updates from the L&D, gaming, and life sciences sectors.
- XTM International appoints Lorcan Malone as its new CEO to lead AI-driven growth.
- Lorcan Malone succeeds Ian Evans, who led XTM through significant growth and AI innovation.
- Intento has been named "Tech of the Week" by Nimdzi Insights for its AI integration platform.
- Intento is recognized for its AI agents (e.g., Translation, Post-Editor, Style Guide) and Enterprise Language Hub.
- Intento CEO Konstantin Savenkov states the focus is shifting from automation to AI governance, putting experts "in charge."
- The EU Court of Justice reportedly rejected AI translation for a EUR 7 million tender, prioritizing human precision for legal texts.
- A "preparation gap" is identified as a key issue for LSPs, where PMs lack time for vital prep tasks like glossary and style guide creation.
- This lack of preparation leads to downstream errors, client revisions, and reduced profit margins.
- In L&D, leaders are redefining AI as "role evolution, not role replacement," using it to streamline eLearning localization.
- Experts in eLearning stress that human empathy and strong instructional design must guide AI implementation.
- Diego Cresceri addresses the misconception that AI will replace linguists, arguing it frees them for high-context tasks.
- Discussions contrast machine translation (speed, cost) with human translation (nuance, cultural context, accuracy).
- Nicola Calabrese highlights the common mistakes SaaS companies make in global expansion and the importance of localization strategy.
- Eugen Baban emphasizes the critical link between translation quality and regulatory compliance in the life sciences sector.
- Georgios Tziakos notes the trend of increasingly story-focused and dialogue-heavy games, complicating localization.
- Andres Romero Arcas has shared a new tool leveraging open-source models (like Hugging Face) for translation tasks.
- New research ("Found in Translation") analyzes the difficulties LLMs face in code translation (e.g., Java to C#).
- Industry discussions revisit the core difference between translation (adapting the message) and localization (adapting the experience).
- The Together Conference 2025 (for sign language interpreters) has opened its call for papers, themed "Pick It Up, Pass It On."
- Submission deadline for The Together Conference is December 19, 2025.
- Stefan Huyghe provides a summary of key takeaways from the TAUS 2025 event for those who could not attend.
- Todd Flaska is sharing observations and insights from the recent LocWorld54 conference.
- New postgraduate programs in translation technology are focusing on skills in TEnTs, MT, post-editing, and subtitling.
- Abussi Ltd highlights the need for specialized IT support (cybersecurity, M365) for translation agencies.
- Academic research is ongoing into multilingual literacies and bilingual development in children.
- A new research report is circulating within the industry.
In corporate news, XTM International has appointed Lorcan Malone as its new Chief Executive Officer. Malone, who brings over two decades of technology sector experience, will succeed Ian Evans. The move signals a clear focus on leading the company’s next phase of AI-driven growth and innovation.
On the technology front, Intento has been recognized as "Tech of the Week" by Nimdzi Insights. The acknowledgment is for their AI agents for translation and their Enterprise Language Hub, which are designed to help global companies manage translation, quality, and brand consistency. Konstantin Savenkov, CEO of Intento, noted that the industry's focus is shifting from pure automation to robust AI governance, allowing subject matter experts to be "in charge of" translation rather than just "in the loop."
That theme of AI governance and human oversight is central to a major development in the legal sector. The EU Court of Justice has reportedly rejected AI translation for a significant EUR 7 million translation tender. This decision underscores the perceived risks of using machine translation for high-stakes legal documents, where absolute precision and contextual nuance are non-negotiable, setting a strong precedent for human-in-the-loop requirements.
This decision reflects a wider industry conversation. Diego Cresceri has been addressing the common misconception that AI will replace linguists, arguing instead that while AI is handling certain tasks, it primarily frees human experts to focus on more complex, high-context work where they remain essential. Discussions also highlight that many errors attributed to AI, such as translating strings without context, have historically been issues in human translation workflows as well. The consensus is a blend of machine speed and human expertise, with the choice depending on content type, budget, and the required accuracy, which for humans remains consistently higher.
In specialized fields, AI's role is also being redefined. In Learning and Development, leaders are focusing on "role evolution, not role replacement." AI is being leveraged to streamline the production and localization of eLearning content, but experts caution that instructional design must lead the process. Empathy and creative strategy, which AI cannot replicate, remain the key human differentiators. In a different technical field, new research on "Found in Translation" is examining the capabilities of large language models for code translation—such as converting Java to C#—finding that models still struggle and require new methods, like using intermediary languages.
Shifting to operational strategy, a primary focus this week is the "preparation gap" affecting project managers. PMs often lack the bandwidth for crucial preparation tasks like glossary development and style guide creation, leading to downstream errors and margin erosion. AI-driven automation is being positioned as the solution to this bottleneck, allowing PMs to shift from firefighting to strategy. This aligns with insights from Nicola Calabrese, who has been highlighting the common mistakes SaaS companies make in global expansion, stressing that proper localization strategy and robust style guides are critical for brand consistency. In the life sciences sector, Eugen Baban has also emphasized the critical link between high-quality translation and regulatory compliance, where precision is paramount.
In tools and community updates, Andres Romero Arcas has shared a new tool, apparently developed using open-source models from platforms like Hugging Face for translation and summarization. For those looking to build their own skills, new postgraduate certificates in translation technology are emerging, focusing on TEnTs, MT, and post-editing. On the infrastructure side, Abussi Ltd is highlighting the specific IT support needs of translation agencies, particularly regarding cybersecurity and Microsoft 365 management. And in academic circles, research is active on the topic of multilingual literacies and bilingual development in early childhood.
Finally, for event news and field insights: For those who could not attend TAUS 2025, Stefan Huyghe has posted a summary of the key takeaways. Todd Flaska is also sharing his observations from the recent LocWorld54. In gaming localization, Georgios Tziakos has noted the increasing trend toward story-focused, dialogue-heavy games, which raises the complexity and importance of narrative adaptation. And The Together Conference for sign language interpreters and translators has opened its call for papers for its 2025 event. The theme is "Pick It Up, Pass It On," and the submission deadline is December 19th.
That's the roundup from LOCANUCU. We've covered the major stories for October 27, 2025, from XTM's new CEO, Lorcan Malone, to the EU Court's stance on AI in legal translation. We also touched on Intento's new "Tech of the Week" status, the critical "preparation gap" for PMs, and strategic insights for SaaS and life sciences localization. Finally, we noted key event updates from TAUS, LocWorld, and The Together Conference. For more actionable insights and the latest trends, stay tuned to LOCANUCU - Localization news you can use.