Machine Translation and AI-Generated Language Services: Not Good Enough for Justice

Pictured: Joann H. Lee (L); Cristina Llop (Ctr); Alena Uliasz (R).

Excerpt from Management Information Exchange (MIE) article by Alena Uliasz, California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc., Joann H. Lee, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, and Cristina Llop, Law Within Reach PC

“The risks and dangers inherent in artificial intelligence must be applied with equal force to machine translation and AI-based language translation tools that increasingly dominate the market. Tools such as Google Translate, DeepL, and Microsoft Translator have relied on neural machine translation algorithms that may produce naturally coherent text, but frequently contain errors in meaning, grammar, register, and cultural context. 

Failing to scrutinize AI language translation tools within the broader dialogue on the need for responsible AI guidance and safeguards sends a disturbing message about how we value people who primarily use non-English languages. Given that most non-dominant language users are immigrants of color, it is worth interrogating our impulse to employ a cheap “quick fix” to communicate with them. If we conclude that substandard translations are “better than nothing” or “good enough,” we are effectively deeming an entire group of people unworthy of the accurate, complete information and communication afforded to English speakers.”

Read the full article below. 

How Legal Advocates Are Standing Up For Language Justice 

Legal advocates and community leaders are calling on the Judicial Council of California to suspend the use of automated translation in California courts and fully implement required language access measures, warning that machine translation is denying court users meaningful access to justice and worsening inequality across the state. 

In public comment to the Language Access Subcommittee of the Council’s Advisory Committee on Providing Access and Fairness, 35 organizations—led by California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA), Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), and Mixteco Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP)—detail how courts’ widespread failure to meet language access standards locks Californians out of critical legal proceedings, with life-altering consequences.