It is often claimed that Artificial Intelligence is making such spectacularly rapid progress that all its current shortcomings will soon be overcome, that AI will eventually surpass human intelligence  and, according to some, that the “Singularity” will be reached: the moment when machine intelligence becomes so complex that it becomes self-aware (and an “existential risk” for humanity). The idea seems to be that the sheer increase in computing power, data, and algorithmic complexity will somehow spontaneously result in the emergence of consciousness. If the Singularity is imminent, how can perfect machine translation not be just around the corner?