Options Community Services is using artificial intelligence translation to help clients who are new to Canada and do not speak English. 

Options is a multiservice non-profit that serves people in Surrey, Delta and the White Rock area. In May, Options immigrant services department started utilizing TranslateLive's Instant Language Assistant (ILA), which helps ensure that language is not a barrier for clients to access help and resources. 

The device is fully encrypted and has more than 200 languages and accents. It is built for accessibility language access for deaf, hard of hearing, blind and low vision and deaf-blind individuals, said Becky Copeland, chief operating officer for TranslateLive, a Florida-based company.

"We started TranslateLive because people wanted a purpose-driven device that did translation with the new APIs (application programming interface) for speech-to-text translation," Copeland said. 

TranslateLive does a lot of work with governments, in school systems and large businesses, so it was vital that the device was encrypted. 

"Unlike a lot of the other translators out there, nothing is saved. So, we do not save any data for AI learning. We also encrypt the entire conversation end to end. So there is no way anyone can hack in and see that conversation real time," Copeland said. 

Two screens, two languages

The device that Options is using is called the ILA Pro device, Copeland said. 

"It is a two-sided to eight-inch tablet. So you have a host screen and a guest screen, each in their own language, that allows you to do the communication right there on the device, and that's the only thing that the device does," Copeland said. 

"I would start speaking in English, I would see on my side, what I'm saying to confirm that it heard me correctly, which is also very important, and then the other side on the guest, they would both be able to see it and it would also speak out in their native language, " Copeland said. 

"Anywhere where two people might need to converse, that may not speak the same language," she said. "It doesn't have to be English to another language Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥” it can be any two languages."

AI steps in where interpreters aren't available

Diana Delgado, executive director of immigrant and employment services for Options, said they saw an influx of newcomers to Canada after the pandemic, especially refugees from Syria and India. While Options aims to hire people who can fluently speak the language of the clients they serve, this is not always possible. 

"This (device) is giving us the ability to breathe to be able to support and direct people where they need to go," Delgado said.  

While it is possible to schedule an interpreter, they are not always available to Options, as the interpreter might have been called to assist in court or a medical setting. 

"So that calls for hours of delay in providing adequate support for people that do not speak English," Delgado said. 

In settings like reception, the staff member can lower the device's volume to ensure the client feels comfortable and can read the staff member's response. 

Or if the client cannot read, they can hear the response in their mother tongue. 

"Now, of course, like any technology, it still has limitations. There are languages in which we don't necessarily have all the audio; we may have only writing."

"So if the person is illiterate in their mother tongue, you know, we still have a challenge, it will still require to have a human interpreter."