Why translations cannot be done by machines

One of my colleagues sent me this link. Its a translation of a kannada poem by GK Adiga. I was immediately bowled over by the lovely translation. The translation reflects the inner subtleties of the original so well, that it made me understand and perhaps gave me more perspectives about the original song. And it is clear as a programmer, that with the current state of things, it is not possible to make such a translation mechanically. It would require a poetic heart filled with enough Josh and the right words flowing into at the right time.

There is actually a new field emerging called human computation. It deals with those things that humans can do, but current computers cant and probably never will. Like the captcha, for instance. Google for it, and you stumble upon some interesting theories and ideas. At least, you will feel proud that you are a human. Though a computer will find 2^19834 faster than you, only you can translate a poem with all its context and inner meaning. Because current computers cannot yet read between the lines!!