Interpreting SAFE-AI Work Group Unveils Results of AI in Interpreting Survey

HOUSTON, July 24, 2023 (Newswire.com) - The work group of industry experts behind the formation of the Interpreting SAFE-AI (Stakeholders Advocating for Fair and Ethical AI in Interpreting) Task Force is excited to share the results of its first public survey, a crucial step in its mission to foster responsible AI adoption and to develop recommendations. The proposed mission for the task force is to establish, disseminate, and promote guidelines for the responsible adoption of AI in interpreting by facilitating dialogue among vendors, buyers, practitioners, end-users, regulators, and other stakeholders.

The anonymous survey, designed to gather stakeholder input on the structure of the official task force, saw an exceptional response, with 580 stakeholders representing over 20 countries. The majority of the respondents, approximately 80%, are from the United States, with more than 250 respondents volunteering for committee roles. This broad-based involvement will help ensure that the task force's work is representative and inclusive, welcoming a wide array of perspectives from interpreters, interpreting service providers, professional associations, technology vendors, buyers, end-users, and other key stakeholders.

An initial look at the survey sheds light on the industry's attitudes towards AI, including contrasting views on how new AI models might in some cases replace and in others enhance the work of human interpreters. One respondent commented, "Isn't the horse out of the barn already? Are we too late to actually impact change in this technology that seems to be moving at the speed of light?" A longtime American Sign Language interpreter sees public education as the key to the safe use of AI: "I was told in 2009 that captioning would take over ASL interpreting as it was going to be able to be done by machines. This leads me to believe that we must educate folks on how AI is going to have a place in the industry but will not replace the human element."

The work group is currently in the process of analyzing the survey results in detail. These findings will inform the task force structure and guide the agenda for the inaugural meeting, which will be announced soon. "The findings will also help direct the task force's primary objective, ongoing efforts to develop guidelines and best practices for AI use in various contexts, including conference, medical, legal, educational, and business settings," says Katharine Allen, Training Specialist, Boostlingo, one of the work group members.

For those interested in learning more about the survey results or the task force's work, please reach out to the following email address: [email protected]

Regular updates will be posted to the SAFE-AI LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/company/safe-ai/

About Interpreting SAFE-AI Task Force 

The Interpreting SAFE-AI Task Force will be a diverse group of industry stakeholders advocating for fair and ethical AI in interpreting. The group's mission is to establish, disseminate, and promote guidelines for responsible AI adoption in the field, ensuring the technology's benefits are maximized while minimizing potential risks. For more information, please visit https://safeaitf.org.

Source: Interpreting SAFE-AI Task Force