preface

My journey with AI began in 2009. I was nearing graduation and short on money, so I picked up a few translation gigs. One Christmas break, I found myself alone in a quiet student dorm, spending whole days (and sometimes nights) translating technical manuals for consumer electronics products. I admit I always had a passion for working with languages, but that job was just incredibly dull. There had to be a better way.

That new year, I began exploring machine translation. What started as a spark of curiosity quickly expanded into a deeper interest in natural language processing—and soon after, into the broader world of AI. For me, it was a fascinating minefield of opportunities. However, at the time, AI felt more like science fiction than a viable commercial technology. Real-world applications were rare and often shaky. Looking for firsthand guidance, I spent weeks tracking down Berlin’s only machine learning professor. Eventually, I got started on a PhD in Computational Linguistics. It was an early and exciting time when we designed rule-based systems, experimented with modest machine learning models, and debated the first principles of a field that was waiting for its breakout moment.