U.S. Immigration Relies on Faulty Translation Tools, Causing Confusion and Mistakes for Refugees

Immigration officials instructed to use inaccurate translation apps like Google Translate to communicate with detainees
Errors lead to confusion, incorrect info given to detainees, issues on applications
Customs and Border Patrol app "CBP One" only handles a few languages and still makes mistakes
Examples Haitian Creole text translated to gibberish, asylum denied over small grammar issues
Dialects like Dari not recognized at all, causing problems for Afghan refugees
Biases in government and AI mean tools meant to help end up causing harm

futurism.com

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8/19/2023

Bridging the Language Gap: A Push for AI Tools for African Languages - Unite.AI

### Summary A team of researchers in Africa is working on developing artificial intelligence (AI) tools tailored to African languages to bridge the digital divide, as most AI tools are designed for dominant languages like English, French, and Spanish. ### Facts - 💡 Researchers in Africa are striving to develop AI tools for African languages to address the technological disadvantage faced by billions due to linguistic differences. - 💻 The efficiency of AI tools in understanding human languages depends on the availability of data in that language, posing a unique challenge for African languages with lesser data. - 🌍 Four core insights for creating African language tools have been identified: boosting African content creation, removing obstacles in translating official communications, promoting collaboration between linguistics and computer science, and ensuring ethical considerations and community respect in data collection and application. - 📚 The findings of this study highlight the priorities for investments in time and finances to develop AI language tools for African languages. - 🌐 The team plans to broaden the study's scope to assess the potential impact of AI language tools and work towards overcoming barriers to access. - ✨ The vision is to create language tools that improve communication, counter misinformation, and contribute to the conservation of indigenous African languages. (Source: The given content)

8/22/2023

Meta releases an AI model that can transcribe and translate close to 100 languages

Meta has developed an open-source AI model called SeamlessM4T that can translate and transcribe close to 100 languages across text and speech, representing a breakthrough in the field of AI-powered language translation and transcription.

9/9/2023

Gizmodo Fires Spanish Site Staff, Replaces Them With AI Translation Sparking Backlash

AI has replaced human translators at Gizmodo's Spanish-language site, leading to criticism from workers and concerns about job displacement.

9/19/2023

AI Poses Promise and Peril for Game Development

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being increasingly used in game development, with AI-generated characters and dialogues creating more immersive experiences, although its limitations mean that humans still play a crucial role, and game developers believe AI will never be able to replace the unique combination of story, art, sound, and overall experience that games offer, while the use of AI in translation tasks in the gaming industry is leading to lower pay for translators and a decline in translation quality, causing concerns among professionals in the field.

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Posted 9/10/2023, 9:34:30 AM