Bible Translation & Artificial Intelligence?

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

                               Acts 2:1-4 NRSVue

We've been hearing that Artificial Intelligence --AI -- may pose an existential threat for humans and amongst those who are sounding the alarm are some of those who helped develop it. As an example, at the moment there is a strike on the part of film and television writers and actors who are concerned that artificial "actors" will replace humans. And what if this intelligence exceeds are own? It's already got more smarts than a lot of people who voted for President Agent Orange.

AI is also being used for innovative and good purposes and one potential application is translating the bible into other languages. We might forget that the English translation of the bible is just under 500 years old and owning a bible in vernacular languages was illegal in many countries for centuries. 

I was intrigued by a Religion News Service article about two computer scientists at the University of Southern California who are employing AI for translation. Both are Christians and one is the son of bible translators. Here is a portion of the piece: 

 (RNS) — Out of the 7,100 languages that exist, the Bible has been translated into more than 700, making it the most-translated book in the world. Yet, those remaining languages — many of them extremely rare — have vexed Bible translators for decades. Two scientists are looking to new advancements in artificial intelligence to help close the gap.

“We want to reach all the languages on earth; the goal is to reach everyone,” said Joel Mathew, a research engineer who alongside Ulf Hermjakob recently launched the Greek Room, an AI-powered technology to help streamline the highly technical process of biblical translation.

You may have seen that in Voices United, the United Church music and worship resource, that there are translations of the New Creed and the Lord's prayer there are versions in other languages including Cree, Japanese, Chinese, and more. Tucked away in the 900s of VU they are a recognition that the United Church includes congregations from many backgrounds. 

There is always the concern that translation can be used for religious imperialism, and that has occurred in the past. There is also the "pentecost" desire to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in every language. I hope we'll hear more about this project along the way.