It’s a video because it’s a TED Talk (not a TED Essay). However, they do provide transcripts: https://www.ted.com/talks/carole_cadwalladr_this_is_what_a_digital_coup_looks_like/transcript

It’s still doing a consistently poorer job than a skilled translator, because it has no concept of nuance or tone. I encounter people getting themselves worked up over information in AI-translated news articles, so I go back to the source material and discover it’s mistranslated, under-translated, or just completely omitted parts of sentences. It’s very Purple Monkey Dishwasher.

The quality is better than it was a decade ago, sure, but that’s a pretty low bar. Back then it was gibberish, nowadays it’s natural-sounding phrases with incorrect translations.

I assumed it was supposed to be Personal Assistant, but the text got cut off.

Asian? I mean, I know they exist in Asia, as I lived in SK and JP when I was younger, but we’ve had them in Australia for as long as I can remember, and I’m in my 40s. Westinghouse, Breville and Philips all offer countertop models, and nowadays you can also get them installed directly into the kitchen sink/counter as part of a water filtration system. (Most people prefer a kettle at home, though - they’re cheaper and less fuss to repair/replace.)