This September 11-15, a group of Bible translation experts will explore using AI to accelerate their work during a virtual hackathon. Hosted in partnership between SIL International, Microsoft, and tools.bible, the coding challenge aims to prototype AI solutions that could enhance the quality and speed of Bible translation globally.
Around 50 participants from the Bible translation community will collaborate with Microsoft engineers on two key projects involving natural language processing.
The first AI hackathon project focuses on using AI question answering to improve the quality checking process. The second explores how to leverage AI models for translating the Bible into low-resource languages with minimal existing digital data.
While nothing replaces human discernment and prayer, AI technology can aid translation teams in impactful ways. The aim of the event is to encourage more exploration around these possibilities at the intersection of spiritual purpose and technical innovation.
The intensive hackathon builds on SIL and tools.bible’s growing efforts to adopt AI thoughtfully. This includes augmented quality-checking tools, intelligent search across translations, and even predicting translation choices based on context.
Rather than fully automating translation, the groups aim to create AI that collaborates with and assists people in the complex process. The goal is leveraging technology to bridge language barriers further and provide access to Scripture globally.
The virtual hackathon will culminate with participants presenting their AI prototypes to a panel on September 15.
For more on the AI hackathon and the Bible translation community’s work developing ethical, thoughtful AI systems, visit www.tools.bible
