AI Translations in Community Advocacy: Considerations and Best Practices

As community organizations continue to face limited access to language resources— exacerbated by federal funding cuts—many have turned to artificial intelligence (AI) for translations in order to provide necessary services to the communities they serve. While AI translations have improved within recent years, they are still imperfect. Reliance on AI translations can lead to adverse and unintended consequences, particularly if used with interactions with the criminal legal or the immigration system. 

Although we still encourage the use of certified human translators—and particularly those with cultural competency and subject matter knowledge—whenever possible, using AI at some point in the translation process may be necessary for our partners to provide accessible, in-language services. As such, our team has developed a list of best practices when using AI translations in your community.