In Blind Test, AI Translation of Japanese Classic Judged Superior to Famed Human Version

BookTranslate.ai, an AI developed by a Hungarian startup, just surpassed Donald Keene’s iconic English translation of Ningen Shikkaku (No Longer Human) in a blind, paragraph-by-paragraph comparison. The results? The AI’s translation was judged superior in fidelity, cultural accuracy, and stylistic alignment with Dazai’s original work. The full English translation is available on BookTranslate.ai.

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Proof and Transparency

The translation and the test process are open for public scrutiny. The complete Ningen Shikkaku translation is available online, with all side-by-side comparisons and Gemini analysis. Anyone can read it, compare it, and judge for themselves. The analysis is based on a thorough, sentence-by-sentence comparison, evaluated based on clearly defined literary criteria, with every judgment transparently explained, supported by textual evidence, and open to public verification. The original is available on Aozora Bunko. The test was conducted completely blind.

Why This Matters: A New Economic Reality

Professional book translations typically cost tens of thousands of dollars and take months to complete. BookTranslate.ai slashes that price by over 90% - to under $1,000 - while delivering the final manuscript in hours, not months. But BookTranslate.ai is more than just a financial revolution for the publishing industry; it’s a cultural breakthrough that enables the translation of thousands of books that would otherwise remain locked in their original languages. Now, publishers, indie authors, and nonprofit organizations can affordably translate works that previously would never have justified the cost.

Broader Impact: Unlocking Global Knowledge

BookTranslate.ai opens the door for small publishers, independent authors, nonprofits, academic groups, and anyone with valuable niche works to get them translated affordably. Books that were too expensive to translate - because the cost would never be recouped - can now reach global audiences. The knowledge contained in these books will now spread far more effectively, quickly, and affordably, changing how literature and ideas are shared worldwide.

Further Case Studies

An Open, Growing Translation Library

BookTranslate.ai is building a public domain translation library - new, AI-powered translations of literary classics from Hungarian, Japanese, and other languages, all free for the public. These translations are open for scrutiny, review, and comparison by anyone interested.

The Creator’s Story

BookTranslate.ai was not born in a lab. It was forged in a decade-long struggle for intellectual freedom. Its creator, Balint Taborski, is the founder of Praxeum Publishing, a solo effort dedicated to bringing the foundational works of classical liberalism and libertarian thought to his native Hungary - a country with a long history of illiberalism where these ideas have been systematically suppressed.

For ten years, he translated, rediscovered and published dozens of these vital works free of charge, building a small but passionate community. But he faced an unbreakable wall: the traditional translation model, with its months-long timelines and five-figure costs, made his mission economically unsustainable. The very tool of liberty - the free exchange of ideas - was prohibitively expensive.

Realizing the old model was a dead end, he built a new one. BookTranslate.ai is the direct result of that struggle. It is the machine he designed to tear down the wall he spent ten years fighting, with a single mission: to use technology to make great literature and vital knowledge accessible to everyone, everywhere, without gatekeepers.