The 1000 Anton Hurs Problem: The Failure of AI in Literary Translation

Much hype surrounds AI in translation within the vapourware-industrial complex of Silicon Valley, but how much of this hype can we take seriously in the realm of literary publishing? Few translators understand the tech and few people in tech appreciate the complexity of professional literary translation. A former app developer and current professional literary translator, Anton is uniquely placed. He breaks down the myths and misconceptions between two rigidly siloed areas of expertise, and outlines the fundamental flaw in the attempt to replace literary translators using AI.

About Anton Hur

Anton Hur is one of the most prolific and well-known literary translators of our time. He has been shortlisted and longlisted for the International Booker Prize, for which he also served as a judge in 2025. With a publication list that includes more than twenty books, he is the translator behind a host of best-selling, critically acclaimed Korean titles such as Cursed Bunny (Bora Chung), Love in the Big City (Sang Young Park), I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki (Baek Saehee), and many more. His co-translation of Beyond the Story: 10-Year History of BTS (BTS and Myeongseok Kang) was a #1 New York Times Bestseller. He is also a successful novelist in his own right as the author of Toward Eternity, an ambitious work of speculative fiction that was named the Chicago Review of Books ‘Best New Book’.