Connecticut city turns to AI to increase trust in local government amid immigration enforcement
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Hartford officials hope that real-time and AI-enabled translation services will enable non-English speakers to continue engaging with government services.
As the federal government continues to deploy increased immigration enforcement across states and localities, one Connecticut city is looking to expand access to city functions and services for non-English speakers.
In Hartford, Connecticut, 40% of families also speak Spanish at home, and across the state, more than 25% of households mostly speak a language other than English, the Hartford Courant reported.
“We're a city that's got a large immigrant population,” said Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam. “There are so many of our residents who don’t speak English or don’t speak English as a primary language.”
The language barrier is a major concern for local leaders as it can limit people’s access to critical information or resources from the government for non-English speakers, he said.
“I think it’s more important than ever before to create trust within all populations,” Arulampalam said. “Certain populations might be fearful of government, and when any population is scared of approaching government, that makes us less safe … as a society.”
To expand non-English speakers’ access to government services and communications, Hartford has partnered with Google Public Sector to deploy real-time translation services for city council and Board of Education meetings. The services became available yesterday.
With AI-enabled translations, residents can attend government functions in person or tune in virtually and select their desired language out of nearly 80 options. The city is also exploring how to integrate Google Cloud Translation AI into its 311 services to allow residents to interact with city staff to seek information, report issues and receive assistance for services like trash collection or road repair.
Officials hope offering real-time translation tools for the public will increase engagement and “create a level of trust in city government once folks are able to, regardless of language, express their concerns, report, for instance, housing code violations, or discuss their experiences with different schools,” Arulampalam explained.
An increasing number of municipalities across the nation are turning to AI to expand language access in local government as inclusivity remains a priority for local leaders. In California, for example, Los Angeles County adopted an AI tool to enable real-time translations of government announcements during emergencies such as wildfire evacuations. AI-powered translation is also helping educators better connect and communicate with students and dispatchers more efficiently manage calls from residents to streamline emergency response efforts.
“We've done a lot of work around looking at city functions and how AI can help enhance the connectivity and efficiency of city functions,” he said. “The best interests of the city of Hartford and the safety of all of our residents is to increase trust in government and access to government for all populations, regardless of the language they speak or their immigration status.”