Navigating AI in court translation: Insights for court leaders
Artificial intelligence presents transformative opportunities for enhancing access to justice, particularly in addressing the critical need for accurate and timely translation services in courts. Discover key insights from our "AI-assisted translation in the courts: Exploring opportunities & navigating risks" webinar.
Moderators:
- Diane Robinson, principal court research associate, NCSC
- Rabihah Butler, manager for enterprise content for risk, fraud & government, Thomson Reuters Institute
- Bridget McCormack, president & CEO, American Arbitration Association
Panelists:
- Grace Spulak, principal court management consultant, NCSC
- Florencia Russ, CEO and ATA certified translator, Transcend Translations
- Blanca Escobedo, deputy chief operations officer, Orange County (Calif.) Superior Court
Download Machine translation: Considerations & cautions for courts
Key takeaways
Implement robust quality checks & human oversight
Regular human review by certified translators and interpreters is essential. This "human in the loop" approach ensures accuracy and accountability and addresses the nuances that AI might miss in legal and non-English contexts.
Ensure data security & confidentiality
Utilize secure, internal AI translation solutions protected by firewalls within the court's environment. Establish clear confidentiality agreements with any external reviewers.
Maintain transparency & disclaimers
Inform all parties when AI translation tools are used with clear disclaimers on translated documents. Provide mechanisms for users to report any errors or inaccuracies.
Train AI using court-specific terminology
Generic AI translation models often struggle with legal terminology in addition to other translation limitations. To improve accuracy, train your AI solution using court-specific glossaries, certified forms, and other official legal documents.
Start small & iterate
Implement AI translation solutions incrementally, focusing on specific and limited use cases. Continuously assess performance with interpreters certified in the target language, learn from audits, and refine the application to build confidence and effectiveness.
Establish a strategic & collaborative approach
Form dedicated internal teams and steering committees with broad representation, including court interpreters, native language speakers, and members of the language communities for which AI translation is contemplated. Also involve judicial leadership, and foster strong collaboration and communication across the administration and the bench to gain support and ensure thoughtful decision-making.
FAQs
AI translation in Orange County Superior Court
The Superior Court in Orange County, Calif., is using AI to translate court information and documents using a new AI-powered system, Court Application for Translation (CAT), to meet the needs of Limited English Proficient (LEP) court users. California's CAT program began with the top two languages needed in Orange County: Spanish and Vietnamese.
Overview of CAT process
- Customized a third-party product (Microsoft Azure's translator)
- Hired certified translators and interpreters for quality control
- Tracked errors for continuous improvement
- Added disclaimers to translated documents
- Implemented a phased approach
Benefits realized
- Cost savings
- Faster turnaround times
- Increased court efficiency
- Enhanced access to justice for LEP individuals
Part of the real challenge that courts face is that there's a high demand for translators and interpreters and a shortage of both. AI-assisted translation is a tool that courts can use to help address this critical need, but AI translation needs human review to ensure accuracy.
Grace Spulak
Principal Court Management Consultant, NCSC
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