Governments are increasingly looking to make services more accessible for those who speak a language other than English, and AI tools are playing a role. In some cases, technology may reduce the workload of staffers and can build capacity for smaller governments.
Hartford’s translation services will be available during public meetings, including City Council and Board of Education, starting Tuesday at the next City Council meeting. Residents will have the option to toggle between English and other languages whether they attend the meeting at home or in person.
More than 25 percent of the population within Hartford County, where Hartford, the state capital, is located, speak a language other than English at home. The most common is Spanish, according to one resource from Connecticut state government.
“By providing real-time translation in up to 80 languages for public meetings and resident services, we are directly addressing the needs of our diverse population and ensuring that every single resident has the opportunity to fully understand and participate in our local government,” Hartford Councilman Amilcar Hernandez said in a statement.
The translation capabilities are enabled by Google Workspace through a new partnership between the city and Google Public Sector.
The city will also be integrating Google Cloud Translation AI into its 311 services, supporting staffers’ ability to communicate with residents in multiple languages.
The Mayor’s Office of Community Engagement is exploring the expansion of translation services to support enhanced processing of 311 requests.
“Our goal is to create a city where every resident feels heard and has equal access to information and services,” Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said in a statement.
Other local governments have also integrated technology to expand multilingual access to government, from document translation to 911 services.
In San Jose, where 57 percent of the city’s 1 million residents speak a language other than English at home, officials have cited the positive impact of AI translation tech and are exploring its expansion. In New Orleans, translation tech aims to reduce 911 response times, which research shows can increase by 125 percent when callers don’t speak English as their first language.
And in the city of Meriden, Conn., about a half-hour drive from Hartford, technology is improving translation capabilities for public safety officials. Notably, translation technologies continue to advance.
