The cruellest language barrier: how AI translation is letting down asylum seekers

https://westcountryvoices.co.uk/the-cruellest-language-barrier-how-ai-translation-is-letting-down-asylum-seekers/

18/02/2025

The cruellest language barrier: how AI translation is letting down asylum seekers

“It’s almost impossible for a machine to convey the same message that a professional interpreter with awareness about the country of origin can do, including cultural context.”

That was the concern expressed by Uma Mirkhail, a volunteer with Respond Crisis Translation, after seeing the effects of using AI-powered translation tools to vet applications from Afghan asylum seekers in the US. The speaker was quoted in an article published by the Guardian in September 2023, ‘Lost in AI Translation’, which found that some applications were being jeopardised because the language tools were misinterpreting the data.

Interpreters and translators are linguists, which means that they understand language on a deeper level than a non-linguist and much more comprehensively than an AI translation tool. Languages contain subtleties and cultural references that can only be acquired and ‘meta-textually’ used by a human. However, machine translation is increasingly popular because of its cost-effectiveness and speed.

Delegating high-stake decisions to AI translation tools such as Google Translate and Microsoft Translator also raises ethical questions due to the AI’s non-compliance with international law and human rights legislation. This is particularly relevant to asylum seeker applications. The Guardian article reported that in the US, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had set up contracts with several machine translation firms including Lionbridge and TransPerfect Translations International Inc, while officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had been instructed to use Google Translate to vet refugee applications. Customs and Border Protection had even developed its own app, CBP Translate, to help communicate with migrants. […]

PQ: 18 February 2025

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2025-02-10.30518.h

Department for Work and Pensions: Translation Services

Department for Work and Pensions written question – answered at on 18 February 2025.

Rupert Lowe Reform UK, Great Yarmouth

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28401 on Translation Services, what the spend was on interpretation for people contacting his Department excluding (a) British Sign Language and (b) all native languages in 2024.

Andrew Western The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

The spend on interpretation for people contacting her department excluding (a) British Sign Language and (b) all native languages in 2024 was £6,345,260.60

For clarity and transparency of spend:

Spoken Face to Face interpretation in 2024 = £393,690.08

For additional information

Total British Sign Language Interpreting costs Face to Face = £1,505,061.80

Total Additional costs for native UK language interpretation (e.g., Welsh or UK dialect) = £14.40

"Court proceedings had to be halted twice due to troubles with the interpreter service"

https://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2025/02/17/asylum-seeker-charged-with-threatening-to-set-himself-on-fire-claims-he-was-being-beaten-and-tormented-in-home-office-accommodation

17 February 2025

[…] Court proceedings had to be halted twice due to troubles with the interpreter service.

First the interpreter was unable to hear through the loudspeaker function of a telephone – and the court was placed on hold while piano music played out through the room.

Next, the court’s video conferencing system was used – but the interpreter who answered was unable to provide court translation services.

Finally, a Spanish translator answered the call and confirmed they could provide the required services.

PQ: 14 February 2025

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2025-02-05.29181.h

Courts: Translation Services

Ministry of Justice written question – answered at on 14 February 2025.

Rachel Blake Labour/Co-operative, Cities of London and Westminster

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions her Department has had with stakeholders on insourcing court language interpretation services.

Sarah Sackman The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice

Regarding insourcing, the Ministry of Justice received and considered feedback from various interested parties, including external stakeholders and court users. It was determined that the service that will best suit the wide-ranging needs of users of language services continues to be a national, centralised booking and matching service. I would like to provide assurance the project considered the potential for bringing the service fully or partially in-house when assessing its options. However, these proved to be unaffordable.

The Ministry of Justice established an external stakeholder forum in 2021 with external organisations with an interest in the Department’s work, with the first meeting held on 8 June 2021. The forum comprises members from organisations representing interpreters and visual and tactile communication practitioners, as well as voluntary regulator organisations, including the National Register for Public Sector Interpreters (NRPSI). The purpose is to share information, facilitate communication and understand key issues or concerns of their members. The Department informed forum members in 2023 that it planned to continue with an outsourced model after an assessment indicated it is the best model for our needs.

With all Government contracts, we must consider what is the best value for taxpayers’ money, taking account of quality, deliverability and cost. On balance, we think outsourcing these services provides the best value for money. The decision has been made with input from a number of functional departments within the Ministry of Justice and approved by the Cabinet Office and the Treasury.