Meeting the Moment

Darwin, AI, and GALA’s Response to the (R)evolution

Many of us learned Darwin's Theory of Evolution in school: evolution is the result of accumulated changes over successive generations. In nature, organisms with traits better suited to their environment survive and reproduce. In business, organizations that adapt to a dynamic marketplace are the ones to survive.

Today, our industry is experiencing its own environmental pressures: shifting client expectations, technological disruption, and global economic uncertainty. These forces reward adaptability and penalize stagnation.

At GALA, our mission is to help our members meet this moment so they can respond with curiosity, confidence, and a road map for change.

Environmental Pressures

The AI revolution is undoubtedly one of the greatest sources of environmental pressure on today’s localizers. It’s made translation widely available, creating the impression that language specialists are no longer needed. This misconception ripples through organizations: executives controlling the purse strings think the language problem is solved, client-side localization teams are reduced and their budgets are cut, and supply-side revenues drop drastically.

Layered on top of this is sluggish worldwide economic growth. High inflation, aggressive interest rate hikes, the war in Ukraine, US tariffs, and even some lingering effects of the pandemic are all having a chilling effect on investment.

At the same time, language operations are changing. They are gradually becoming cross-disciplinary and distributed, which creates new workflows, new stakeholders, and new ways of functioning. After years of advocating for earlier consideration of language, we’re finally seeing it “shift left.” This is great! But it means radical changes to how LSCs and global enterprise clients work together.

These headwinds make it tough, but not impossible to adapt. Today’s localization workflows are more complex than ever and rely on more tools and platforms than ever before. But while AI and automation can handle volume and repetition, humans manage nuance, judgment, and the orchestration of it all.

There is plenty of opportunity, especially as language becomes a mainstream business requirement and global content continues to grow. 

GALA, Your Wingman for Transformation

A variety of industry pundits have given names to the changes we’re seeing around us. But as Shakespeare reminded us, the name matters less than the substance of the thing, and GALA is one hundred percent focused on substance. What is important is equipping our members with knowledge and connections so that they can make the necessary adaptations to transform their businesses and succeed.

GALA is doubling down on being the industry’s educational leader by providing timely information on trends, technologies, new services, and new skills. Our programs and events are designed to educate, inform, and connect professionals so that the collective wisdom of this amazing community becomes an asset for all.

Whatever you call it – translation-as-a-feature, LangOps, language solutions integration, global content solutions – GALA is here to help you understand how to succeed in this new environment. 

WorldReady

How will we help you? The way we always have, only with more focus. Now called the WorldReady conference, GALA’s popular annual conference aims to support today’s professionals as they navigate this rapidly changing global environment. The program will be multi-focal, practical, and grounded in real-world experiences. The conference program committee identified the areas undergoing the most rapid changes and is hard at work developing five tracks: TechReady, MarketReady, RiskReady, PeopleReady, and LanguageAccess Ready. We received just shy of 150 proposals, a clear sign that our community is ready to contribute and ready to learn.

Beyond the conference, we’ll continue preparing members to be WorldReady through GALA Academy, special interest groups, webinars, articles, and our GALA Business Barometer Reports.

No other association in our industry brings together such a wide range of experienced professionals to solve problems together. The GALA community is the wingman next gen localizers can rely on. 

Membership (Re)model

To be more inclusive and accessible and to reach a wider variety of professionals, GALA will begin offering individual professional memberships in January 2026. After working with a member focus group and surveying nonmembers, the message was clear: far more people want access to GALA resources than our traditional trade association model allows. We’re expanding our membership model to include individuals, nonprofit organizations, and students and we can’t wait to welcome them!

Yes, our industry faces real environmental pressures, but this community has the talent, commitment, and creativity to adapt and survive.

Join GALA’s incredible community. Adapt with us. Thrive with us!