International (MNN) – Artificial intelligence has prompted discussion about ethics and usefulness in almost every industry. What about Bible translation?
That’s the kind of thinking that can prompt both excitement and argument. Some Christians might find the prospect of AI-assisted translation exciting. Others might question the use of technology in a process that is inherently spiritual, not just academic.
Birch Champeon of unfoldingWord has considered some of these exact issues. unfoldingWorld engages in challenging Bible translation work that is both rewarding and arduous.
unfoldingWord provides tens of thousands of notes to churches to help assist in translation. While many of their projects have seen successful translations of the New Testament, many languages still need to see successful translations of the Old Testament.
With all the work unfoldingWord has already done, they’ve generated something else: data points.
“Because we have so many thousands of data points and work that’s already been done by Greek and Hebrew experts, we can actually use AI to assist us in the initial drafts of those resources,” Champeon says. “These experts can take a written note that the AI has assisted us in building, then edit it and format it.”
It’s an application that unfoldingWord has considered for some time, but so far, the technology has actually slowed down the process. It’s only now that translators and consultants report that the AI is more useful than hindering.
Obviously, this is a conversation that goes deeper than usefulness. Is AI-assisted Bible translation ethical?
“Bible translation is both a technical work and a spiritual work. In that process, we can apply technology to the technical part of this ministry, but because it’s a spiritual work, we don’t want that technology to actually give the wrong answer or to distract from the truth.”
To that end, the best way to think about AI in Bible translation is as a starting point.
“It is, at its core, what we would call a prediction engine, which means it’s making educated guesses,” Champeon says. “Because we have many things written about Scripture, […] we can compare the answers that the artificial intelligence is giving and see if the answers agree with resources that we know to be good. That is a necessary part of releasing this technology and making it actually useful for translators so that they can trust it.”
It’s all about using the technology rather than letting it control the project.
“We want to make sure that it stays in that assistant role, that the AI is serving almost as a very junior translator or helper or the translator himself or herself, and that they are actually in charge of what goes into the translation.”
If you want to support the work of unfoldingWord, you can give at this link. Sign up for the unfoldingWord prayer calendar here.
Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.
