Carol Velandia
Carol Velandia is a nationally recognized advocate for language access in the United States. She is founder and CEO of Equal Access Language Services, and she developed the award-winning program “Effective Inclusion Through Language Access” to enhance language service delivery across various sectors.
Why Language Access Cannot Be Automated Away
Language access, which is a civil right, cannot be fully automated by AI, especially in high-stakes situations like legal or medical settings. Human professionals are indispensable because they provide judgment, cultural leadership, agility, and governance and manage the complexity, trauma, and ethical responsibility that AI cannot handle.
The Global State of Language Access: Where are we now?
The author argues that providing language access more evenly throughout the world depends on recognizing it as a civil right, co-designing solutions with communities most affected by language barriers, and providing stable funding and business models for language access work.