Modern Social Science Research

New-quality productive forces, characterized by digitalization, networking, and intelligentization, aim to drive industrial upgrading through scientific and technological innovation, thereby propelling high-quality socioeconomic development. The rapid advancement of next-generation information technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data, has fundamentally transformed traditional language service paradigms and industrial structures, emerging as a core engine for the transformation and upgrading of the translation industry. Grounded in the theoretical connotation of new-quality productive forces, this paper analyzes the impact of these forces on the translator’s role and the subsequent reshaping of competencies, proposing a three-dimensional model for the reconstruction of translator competence. The study finds that new-quality productive forces necessitate a shift for translators from being single-function language converters to becoming composite talents who possess technological mastery, cognitive complexity, and ethical oversight. Furthermore, the paper discusses how translation education in Chinese universities should adjust talent cultivation schemes to adapt to the development of new-quality productive forces, aiming to provide a reference for translation education.

New-quality productive forces; Digital transformation; Human-machine collaboration; Translation education; Translator competence