Is Google Translate good enough for government work?
Google is increasingly proud of its Google Translate product, but the company still recommends that users of its automatic translation put up disclaimers such as: “Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace human translators. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability or correctness of any translations.”
Meanwhile, according to an agency manual revealed as part of a public records request, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been instructing its officers to use Google Translate and other free online tools to perform social media checks and assessments. This is part of the vetting process for refugees who wish to join their spouses or parents and resettle in the US.
As the manual is specific to follow-to-join refugees, to what extent USCIS is performing social media checks on different types of current and former immigrant applicants is not publicly known. However, USCIS has stated that they performed 11,740 social media screenings in 2018.
Unfortunately, this reminds me of an episode previously reported in The Guardian, which I wrote about here on the blog: On Facebook, a Palestinian construction worker posted a photo of himself with a bulldozer and added the caption “Good morning.” But Facebook’s automatic translation turned the message into “Attack them” in Hebrew. The man was arrested and questioned by Israeli police officers who feared that the man planned to use the bulldozer in an attack.
While there may be value in screening immigration applicants’ social media accounts, automatic translation is definitely not the best way to go about that effort. I wonder how much slang, nuance, culture and context are too much for Google Translate to handle correctly. And then, what the implications for the innocent and the guilty alike might be.
Yes, Google Translate is free, but you often get what you pay for.
Need Better Translation?
Responsive Translation offers multilingual solutions to organizations and agencies with stakeholder communication requirements, including written translation, human-edited machine translation, on-site interpreting and telephone interpreting.
Responsive Translation is a GSA schedule contract holder. Please inquire for our special GSA rates and services, or to learn more about our other multilingual offerings, at 646-847-3309 or [email protected].
Image credit: Brett Sayles