Abstract
This introductory chapter establishes the framework for the handbook, outlining its key motivations, aims, epistemological leanings, (meta)theoretical underpinnings, and conceptual constellations. A special focus is placed on how AI-driven language and translation technologies are moving toward a quasi-independent machinic agency within contemporary multilingual societies. Tools like neural machine translation and generative multilingual AI challenge conventional conceptions of translation as a solely human-centred practice. This chapter describes these tools’ dual role as socially constructed and socially constructing agents, while also considering their evolution towards increasingly human-machinic entanglements in the global knowledge economy. Highlighting the ontological, epistemological, and axiological dimensions of sociotechnical translation research, the chapter critiques the commodification of language and the exploitative dynamics within modern digital ecosystems. Large language models (LLMs) and AI-driven translation tools need to be reframed as increasingly interdependent and autonomous machinic agents, which calls for an integrated critical posthumanist perspective that decisively transcends simplistic binary distinctions between humans and machines. Addressing these tools’ ecological and societal challenges and benefits, the chapter advocates for engaged interdisciplinary, sociotechnical, and empirical approaches for translation technology research. This contribution, ultimately, proposes a more outspoken, ethically grounded trajectory for a nascent sociology of translation technology, envisioning a future aligned with ecologically sustainable and socially equitable values and practices.