Quality in interlingual AI dubbing: Exploring machine and human intersections

Giselle Spiteri Miggiani

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Title
Quality in interlingual AI dubbing: Exploring machine and human intersections

Abstract
The emergence and increasing prevalence of AI-driven end-to-end dubbing solutions necessitate an investigation into the quality of the generated output. This article offers an exploration of the intersections between machine output and human intervention in the production of AI-driven dubs, while identifying the nature of necessary human actions within the current state of the art. To this end, the article shares insights drawn from two independent exploratory studies carried out in training settings. First, an English AI dub, generated for didactic purposes, was evaluated and rated against its official studio-recorded counterpart. This served as a preliminary pilot application of the Script, Speech, and Sound (SSS) quality assessment framework (Spiteri Miggiani, 2024) across diverse training environments. Second, another experiment evaluated, rated, and compared the output of three different Italian AI-dubbed versions of the same original clip, generated by three different platforms. The studio version was also evaluated as a benchmark. Issues were identified and labeled, and the specific “actions” required from human linguists were identified and categorized. While acknowledging that these findings are tool-dependent, context-specific, and subject to change as technology evolves, both cases nevertheless reveal consistent patterns where machine outputs intersect with human linguistic judgment. The key areas where human expertise appears to be essential include synchronization, voice consistency and expressiveness, narrative and semiotic cohesion, sound design, and language and translation.

Keywords
AI Dubbing, quality, assessment framework, human agency, human intervention

DOI 10.17462/para.2026.02.04

Giselle Spiteri Miggiani

Giselle Spiteri Miggiani, PhD, is a tenured academic in the Department of Translation, Terminology, and Interpreting Studies at the University of Malta. She introduced Audiovisual Translation and Accessibility as a new area of study and teaches and coordinates this postgraduate specialization stream. She is also a professional audiovisual translator and adapter of media content since 2006 and has worked on numerous productions broadcast on RAI and Mediaset. She is invited regularly as a guest speaker, trainer, and visiting lecturer at other universities across Europe and delivers consultancy and training to EU institutions and global leading media localization companies. Apart from her globally-oriented research on dubbing and voice-over—covering quality assessment, script adaptation techniques, and cloud dubbing technologies—her current work also on the evolution of AI dubbing, particularly on emerging linguist profiles and competencies. She is the author of the book Dialogue Writing for Dubbing – An Insider’s Perspective (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), along with several journal articles, book chapters, and guidelines documents for practitioners and stakeholders.