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

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.