By Jordan Meadows
Staff Writer
There are more than 67 million people in the U.S. who speak a language other than English at home, and at least 38% report speaking English less than very well. With over 500 languages tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau, public agencies face growing pressure to serve diverse populations efficiently.
Advances in bilingual and real-time translation technologies are rapidly reshaping how governments, schools, police departments, and everyday consumers communicate, arriving at a moment when language policy and cultural identity are under renewed national scrutiny.
Law enforcement agencies have been among the most visible adopters of these technologies. Immigration and Customs Enforcement previously announced plans to replace a five-week Spanish language course for officers with “robust translation services” intended to expedite hiring and field operations, although the promised technology has yet to be implemented.
Police departments in at least 19 states are using Pocketalk devices and apps that provide real-time translation in more than 90 languages, allowing officers to communicate instantly with residents during traffic stops, emergencies, and investigations.
Cities are also embracing language technology at scale. In December, outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued a directive urging all city agencies to integrate language technologies into daily operations. The city plans to install translation apps on more than 100,000 city-owned smart devices, aiming to make New York “the most language-friendly city on the globe.” The New York City Office of Technology and Innovation is supporting agencies in deploying tools such as Google Translate and Apple’s built-in Translate app, while the NYPD has begun using language technology in routine interactions with the public.
At the same time, New York City Public Schools is developing “Hello,” a new app designed to bridge communication gaps between educators and families, scheduled for rollout in spring 2026. Schools nationwide are increasingly relying on AI-powered translation to support multilingual classrooms: Microsoft Translator allows teachers to transmit spoken lessons via Bluetooth to students’ devices, where the content is translated into each student’s chosen language in real time.
Google is pushing this even further with a new beta feature that turns ordinary headphones into personal translation devices. By preserving tone, emphasis, and cadence, the technology makes conversations feel natural rather than robotic, while also handling idioms, slang, regional expressions, and nuanced meanings that older translation tools often missed. Phrases like “stealing my thunder” are now interpreted contextually, showing a deeper understanding of culture embedded in language. This Google feature currently supports more than 70 languages.
Major consumer technology companies are also racing to make live translation a seamless experience. Meta has introduced real-time translation to its AI-powered Ray-Ban smart glasses, enabling users to hear translations between English and Spanish, French, or Italian through open-ear speakers or view transcripts on their phones. The glasses now combine translation with features like music identification via Shazam, Instagram messaging, object recognition, and video-enabled AI assistance that responds to what the user is seeing in real time. Apple has entered the space with live translation capabilities in its new AirPods Pro 3, which can lower the volume of a speaker’s voice and replace it with a translated version directly in the listener’s ear.
Yet as these technologies become more accurate, accessible, and embedded in daily life, they raise deeper questions about the future of language learning and cultural connection. On one hand, AI-powered translation lowers barriers and helps institutions serve multilingual communities more effectively, especially in high-stakes settings like policing and education. On the other hand, reliance on instant translation may reduce the incentive to learn new languages, potentially eroding the cultural knowledge, historical context, and subtle social meanings that come from speaking a language fluently.
