Legal Advocates Raising Alarms About Bill Allowing State Courts to Use AI for Interpretation Assistance

Friday, March 6th, 2026 -- 12:00 PM

(Sarah Lehr, Wisconsin Public Radio) Legal advocates are raising alarms about a bill that would allow Wisconsin courts to use interpretation assisted by artificial intelligence.

According to Sarah Lehr with the Wisconsin Public Radio, Republican sponsors say they introduced the bill to cut back on costs and alleviate a statewide shortage of court interpreters.

The proposal would “employ rapidly improving AI and other technology to save local governments from burdensome expenses,” said state Sen. André Jacque, R- New Franken, during a hearing Tuesday.

But critics warned the proposal could lead to costly mistakes and open the door for rulings to be appealed. Under Wisconsin law, people with limited English proficiency have the right to a qualified interpreter when they appear before a circuit or appellate court.

That applies to witnesses, people charged with crimes, victims and the family members of victims. Amanda Merkwae with American Civil Liberties of Wisconsin said the proposal risks violating the rights of both victims and defendants.

AI interpretation is known to be “dangerously inaccurate in the legal context,” where mistakes could result in someone going to jail or losing custody of their child, Merkwae said.

She pointed to research from the Stanford Legal Design Lab, in which AI mistranslated “trial” as “test,” and “due date” as “date to give birth.” Karen Nguyen, an American Sign Language interpreter who teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, told lawmakers that AI often misses nuance and cultural context.

“Everyone in this room probably knows the difference between a booty call and a butt dial,” Nguyen said, prompting chuckles from some lawmakers. “Misconstruing the two would lead to consequences of embarrassing proportions,” she continued. “But put this in the context of high-risk stakes, and this result doesn’t elicit laughter anymore.”

The State Bar of Wisconsin and Disability Rights Wisconsin are among the groups that have registered against the bill.

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