Globally Speaking

Most enterprise AI projects start as a technology problem. They end as a data and culture problem. Ankit Mathur, Partner Solutions Architect at AWS, joins the Cultural Intelligence Podcast with a perspective few people have: not from inside one enterprise, but from across an entire ecosystem of them. What he sees is illuminating, and occasionally surprising. What do the organizations getting AI right share? Two things: they're innovating faster than ever, and they're treating their data strategy with the same seriousness as their AI strategy. Wondering about the ones struggling? Many are still chasing the biggest frontier models on the market, even when that's rarely what the problem actually needs. Ankit breaks down what separates a deployment that works from one that fails and we’re all ears. Here’s one sentence we particularly liked: “Don’t forget to own the business yourself. Don’t hand it over to AI.”

In this Globally Speaking episode, RWS Principal Product Manager Luis Lopes sat down with Milen Epik, President of Epik Global Solutions, and Adam Asnes, CEO and founder of Lingoport, to explore what software localization looks like now that AI coding agents are part of everyday development. Key topics covered: * Why you can't just point an AI agent at your code and expect internationalization to work (spoiler: it's a good way to break things) * How context, from Figma designs to system prompts, shapes the quality of AI translation * Why cultural intelligence goes beyond words, and what it can teach us about changing business logic, not just text * The governance and guardrails needed when distributed teams all use AI on the same codebase * Why the future is "human expertise at the core, AI in the loop" Whether you manage localization, build software, or are just curious about what happens between the code and the screen, this episode will change how you think about shipping products in every language. Curious to explore Milen and Adam’s work? Find them here:

A direct translation can be accurate and still creatively dead. Stu Davison, Creative Director at RWS, joins the Cultural Intelligence Podcast to show us what happens to a big creative idea when it has to cross a border, and why the adapted version doesn't always have to be identical to the original. His distinction between translation and transcreation says it all: translation carries the word, transcreation carries the idea. Creative work lives in nuance, rhythm and cultural references. Get that wrong and your big idea doesn't just lose impact, but it can actively damage your brand. Stu also tackles two questions every creative is sitting with right now: what's the one thing AI will never do in the creative process? And what's the most expensive mistake a global brand can make with AI? Spoiler: it's signing off on a global campaign without a single person from the local market in the room…

For years, the localization industry has told a story about speed, cost and quality. But as AI transforms how content is created and translated, that narrative and those metrics alone are no longer enough to define the value of language expertise. In our latest Cultural Intelligence Podcast episode, Maria Schnell, Chief Language Officer at RWS, explores why this moment is unlike any other in the history of language expertise. While many see AI as a replacement for translation, Maria argues that this view fundamentally misunderstands what language professionals actually do. Translation isn't the exchange of words. It's the transfer of meaning, intent, and context from one audience to another. The real value of language expertise lies in understanding culture, nuance, and human communication; capabilities that become even more important as AI becomes more powerful. This episode challenges the industry's long-standing narrative and asks a more fundamental question: what is the true value of language expertise in an AI-driven world? And as AI takes on more of the execution, how can human expertise evolve to guide the systems that increasingly shape global communication?

In IP, getting the language wrong isn't a quality issue but a legal one. James Lacey, CEO of Protect at RWS, joins our latest Cultural Intelligence Podcast episode to talk about something that rarely makes it into conversations about IP strategy: context. Not just the legal context of a jurisdiction, but the full lifecycle context of a portfolio; where every decision, every filing, every ownership update is connected to what came before and what comes next. A Chief IP Counsel James met in Taiwan put it simply: IP is too often seen as a cost centre managing legal rights. The shift is towards treating it as a value centre managing strategic assets. That reframe changes everything, including how you think about where AI fits in. The human in the loop isn't a safety net. It's the whole architecture.

Building a story that lands in one market is hard enough. Getting it to work everywhere, simultaneously, is where most global launches fall apart. Erin Roesch, Global Product Marketing Manager, joins the Cultural Intelligence Podcast to talk about what it takes to go global and why the biggest mistake teams are making right now has nothing to do with budget or bandwidth. It's about the story. As a "Builder PMM" who turns complex capabilities into clear positioning, Erin knows that business needs rarely change across markets. What changes is the trigger; the legislation, the culture, the pressure a customer is feeling. And if your story doesn't reflect that, you're not just missing an opportunity. You could be pushing people away without realizing it. Erin brings this to life through her own experience as an American living in the UK, a near-miss campaign launch in Germany, and why one country rarely equals one version. Her closing definition of Cultural Intelligence is worth the listen alone.

AI has handed marketers speed and scale they've never had before. But is this really a differentiator when everyone has access to the same models? Emma Fisher, VP of Marketing at RWS, and Sal Mohammed, Head of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) at LangSync and former Googler, join our latest Cultural Intelligence podcast episode to explore what modern marketing looks like in the age of AI – and why the best campaigns have very little to do with how fast you can generate content. From "we're all on a rocket ship with no way to get off" to the CMO's evolving role as orchestrator, warrior, and tastemaker (curious yet?), just make sure you buckle up. Emma and Sal dig into the rise of AEO, what it means for brand visibility as search shifts to generative AI, and how Cultural Intelligence shapes whether your content gets surfaced… or ignored. You'll also learn why relevance, resonance and trust are the only valid metrics when everyone is publishing at the same speed, and why too many content leaders are still measuring success against the wrong scorecard. If you’re interested in learning more about the ‘Content Unlocked’ report, you can find it here: [https://www.rws.com/about/content-unlocked/lp/ ](https://www.rws.com/about/content-unlocked/lp/)

In this Globally Speaking episode, we sit down with Anne Lepere and Francesca Filanti, Senior Managers in Testing at RWS, to explore what it really takes to make global products feel native, no matter where in the world they're used. Key topics covered: * Why localization testing is so much more than translation, but rather where linguistics meets engineering * The hidden technical work behind the scenes: ADB commands, debug flags, and device setups most linguists never see * Why testing functionality and language together, not separately, saves clients time, money, and headaches AI's growing role in localization and why human testers remain the final gatekeepers * What it takes to scale testing across 300+ native testers, 4,000 devices, and dozens of languages under brutal deadlines Whether you're building global products or just curious about what happens after "translate" is clicked, this episode will change how you think about the apps and devices you use every day. Download the case study to learn more: [https://www.rws.com/localization/eig/rws-enables-high-volume-localization-testing-for-a-global-tech-company/ ](https://www.rws.com/localization/eig/rws-enables-high-volume-localization-testing-for-a-global-tech-company/)

"Some brands are really proud - they have thousands and thousands of pages in hundreds of languages. But nobody reads them. Gone are the days when you were translating for the sake of it.” Ben Faes, CEO of RWS, joins the Cultural Intelligence Podcast for a conversation on what’s reshaping global brand strategy - and why Cultural Intelligence is now fundamental to succeed. In this episode: * Why one message no longer works everywhere - and why “American cachet” no longer carries the weight it once did * How leading global brands stay recognizable without sounding the same everywhere - and why translation alone leaves value on the table * Why automating everything is the fastest route to creating content nobody reads - and how AI is changing expectations around quality and relevance This episode explores AI volume versus AI value, meaning at scale, and meeting audiences where they are.

How do you introduce AI into one of the world’s most regulated industries? Dan Herron, Global VP of Digital Health at RWS, joins the Cultural Intelligence Podcast to discuss how life sciences teams can responsibly apply AI in clinical operations, COAs, and linguistic validation: * Why life sciences is uniquely complex for AI adoption, and why regulation, bias, and documentation matter so much * How AI can support faster workflows in low risk areas (green zones), while a human in the loop remains essential for patient facing and regulated content (red zones) * Why the future of linguistic validation is about responsible modernization, not automation for its own sake A conversation on AI with guardrails, the human in the loop imperative, and why the industry can’t afford to wait for someone else to go first.