GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As the world continues to explore the potential benefits of Artificial Intelligence, Grand Rapids Public Schools is experimenting with the new technology as well, announcing a pilot program to help district leaders reach a broader, Spanish-speaking audience.
“It's really remarkable technology," said Leon Hendrix, GRPS Executive Director of Communications. "We think it removes one more barrier between those who speak English and those who may not.”
GRPS Superintendant Dr. Leadriane Roby utilizes the technology when recording her bi-weekly Vlogs to announce updates within the district.
Then, a computer software called HeyGen takes the video recorded in English, translates Roby's words to Spanish, and even manipulates her mouth movements to accurately reflect those Spanish words.
“The first time I saw it, I was, like, the person who did the voiceover sounds a lot like me," Roby said. "Same voice cadence, all those things. When I connected with our communications director, he was like, 'No, that's your voice.' And I was, like, 'Really?'”
Hendrix said, “We know it's not perfect. Obviously, it's still not the same as having a native speaker speak to an individual. But, it takes us one step closer from them being able to hear directly from the superintendent.”
Any time this technology is used in a video message, viewers will be made aware of the changes through an on-screen notification.
“We’re not trying to trick or confuse anyone. We felt it important to put in guardrails that ensure transparency so the viewer understands what they are watching,” Hendrix said.
A native Spanish speaker does review the video to make sure everything's as accurate as possible. After all, 28% of families in the district say Spanish is their preferred language.
Hendrix understands AI can be abused, telling FOX 17, "When you look at any major technology advancements over the years, there's always been a scary element to it."
However, he said the benefits from this tool are too impactful to be ignored.
“There are always advancements happening," Hendrix said. "We can either choose to stay back and and watch and see what happens and jump in later, or we can choose to be on the cutting edge, and really grasping for that technology that can help us better connect with our audience. Here, at Grand Rapids Public Schools, we choose to be on that front edge.”
As the technology is new, it only has a few languages available to start. When other languages become available, GRPS hopes to take advantage and connect with an even wider audience and expand it to additional languages like Swahili, Kinyardwanda and more.
For more examples on how GRPS has used this AI tool in the past, click this link.
The default video is the originaly, unedited, English version. To see the AI-influenced Spanish version, find the blue bar directly under the video that says "In Español: Click here to watch the Vlog in Spanish."
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