Minnesota’s Enterprise Translation Office uses ChatGPT to bridge language gaps

For government services to be truly effective, they must be accessible to all residents. Removing language barriers is essential to high quality public service. This is the founding principle of the State of Minnesota’s Enterprise Translations Office (ETO), established in 2023 to provide dedicated translation services for the state’s Executive Branch.

Over 20 percent of Minnesota’s residents primarily speak a language other than English, with Spanish, Somali, and Hmong as the top three major non-English languages(opens in a new window) spoken in the state. Language gaps in government communication are a challenge for community health, safety, and trust. The ETO works to ensure equitable access to government information and resources for all, bridging linguistic gaps to ensure a stronger, more inclusive Minnesota.

Government agencies have long made consistent efforts to provide translation services, but Minnesota, like many states, faces challenges. The state’s translation process was highly decentralized, with each department relying on various methods, including engaging external contractors, leading to inconsistent quality, high costs, and delays that could extend up to a month for a single request. Interpretation services were equally challenging, where limited access to approved interpreters made it difficult for people to engage with critical legal and community services effectively.

To address these issues, the ETO began using AI, incorporating ChatGPT as a key pillar of their solution to provide translation services faster, more accurately, and more equitably. The ETO collaborated closely with the Transparent Artificial Intelligence Governance Alliance (TAIGA), Minnesota’s IT Services program, to ensure the program followed safe, ethical, and transparent AI principles. By integrating ChatGPT into the initial stage of translation with meticulous human review and quality assurance, the ETO established a more efficient workflow that sets a new standard for language inclusion in the public sector.

As Adam Taha, Director of the ETO, describes, “The balance between accuracy and speed is the crux of the problem.” By incorporating AI-driven solutions and especially ChatGPT, the ETO has been able to address this challenge, enhancing both the speed and accuracy of its translation services.

Beyond translation accuracy, the ETO’s ChatGPT-enabled workflow also optimizes for cultural relevance to ensure government messaging is both accessible and inclusive. For example, with Hmong and Somali, the ETO developed spreadsheets with culturally relevant terms and translations and incorporated these into their GPTs to improve the model’s cultural awareness. By incorporating a process where ETO translation experts review and correct ChatGPT translations before uploading them to custom GPTs for future reference, the ETO significantly speeds up the quality assurance stage, with fewer edits required for each translation, ensuring that no mistakes or discrepancies occur twice.

The program’s success led to a full rollout in July, just four months after the beta launch, with all ETO team members trained to utilize ChatGPT for translation work. Now, the ETO is supporting a limited pilot project with another state agency to test the use of ChatGPT’s voice capabilities for real-time interpretation. This pilot aims to improve accessibility for non-English-speaking citizens in various live situations and provide faster, more efficient communication for those with limited English proficiency. The early results are promising. If successful, the pilot could expand to more locations, further enhancing the accessibility of public services for all Minnesotans.

The ChatGPT-integrated translation process has been pivotal for the ETO and the communities they serve. Karine Lao Her, the department's Hmong language team lead, shares, “We anticipate rapid growth in our Hmong translation services in the coming months as we continue to refine the accuracy of our Hmong Custom GPTs. This has already made a significant difference in how our community connects with state resources.”

ChatGPT has significantly enhanced the ETO’s and the State of Minnesota’s Executive Branch’s ability to serve Minnesotans in four impactful ways:

• Rapid turnaround times: What once took weeks to complete can now be done in under 48 hours, with urgent translation requests fulfilled in as little as 2 hours. Since the beta launch, the ETO has processed and delivered over 3,000 translation requests, translating over 2,000,000 words.

• Financial efficiency: Adopting this new process has allowed Minnesota to more efficiently allocate resources, resulting in financial benefits of over $100,000 per month, which can now be redirected to support other strategic state initiatives.

• Service expansion: Beyond Hmong, Somali, and Spanish, the ETO now offers translation and quality assurance support for languages including French, Arabic, Plain Language English, and Pidgin English by using ChatGPT. The ETO also offers support for more languages by providing cost reimbursements for requesters who use ETO services in conjunction with ChatGPT and conduct quality assurance with external vendors.

• More equitable access to government services: Daha Gobdoon, the Somali language team lead, reflects on the cultural importance of knowledge, quoting the Somali proverb, “Aqoon La’aani waa Iftiin La’aan,” or “lack of knowledge is like lack of light.” “When communities face challenges, delivering information in their language is essential, but timely delivery is often difficult. Now, our community receives crucial government information faster than ever, with rapid turnarounds eliminating the long wait for important documents.”

The impact of ETO’s work is being felt across numerous departments, including the Minnesota System of Technology to Achieve Results (STAR) Program.(opens in a new window) As a small division within the Department of Administration, the STAR Program serves Minnesotans with disabilities and aging adults by providing access to assistive technology. For years, the STAR Program has only been able to communicate with English-speaking residents, limiting its reach. Now, the STAR program is able to expand its reach and positive impact in ways that were previously unattainable, including by enabling multilingual translation for text offered on screen readers, speech-generating devices, and other assistive technologies. The ETO is also supporting other divisions at the Department of Administration by helping them understand how to integrate AI into their work by providing best practices, safe use guidelines, and live demonstrations.

“We are excited to work with ETO to produce materials in the languages our residents speak,” shares a Minnesota STAR Program representative. “Once we have these new resources, we will be closer to our goal of serving all Minnesotans.”

“Translation is communication. Without translation, communication is exclusive,” said Adam Taha.

Through improved translation, the State of Minnesota’s ETO is expanding access to government services, especially for communities that have traditionally been left out. This approach is a meaningful example for other states, demonstrating how AI can break down traditional language barriers and create more accessibility and inclusion for Minnesota’s diverse communities.