AI system
- System
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Microsoft Translator Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun and romanized Inuktitut text translation (neural machine translation) and Inuktitut text-to-speech
- Model
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Not assessed
- Release
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Not assessed
- Application developer
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Microsoft (Azure Cognitive Services Translator and Speech) with the Government of Nunavut and community volunteers, including the Kitikmeot Heritage Society for Inuinnaqtun - Role
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Not assessed
- Configuration
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Not assessed
- Inputs and outputs
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Not assessed
- Autonomy
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Not assessed
- Workflow
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Language data supplied by the Government of Nunavut and recordings by hired and volunteer speakers. Volunteer fluent speakers validating and testing translations before launch.
- Human oversight
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Not assessed
- Relation to AI
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Microsoft states the translation is neural machine translation trained on Government of Nunavut data and validated by volunteer speakers. Independent reporting records both the launches and specific wrong translations (opposite meanings in 2021; “condo and condom” confusions recounted in 2024). Translators said the output needs a fluent reviewer. No cited source reports a user outcome, usage figure or accuracy measurement. What the system contributed beyond availability is undocumented.
- AI contribution
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Microsoft states the translation is neural machine translation trained on Government of Nunavut data and validated by volunteer speakers. Independent reporting records both the launches and specific wrong translations (opposite meanings in 2021; “condo and condom” confusions recounted in 2024). Translators said the output needs a fluent reviewer. No cited source reports a user outcome, usage figure or accuracy measurement. What the system contributed beyond availability is undocumented.
Benefits
- Outcome identifiers
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Not assessed
- Benefit
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Neural MT for Inuktut dialects built with the Government of Nunavut and volunteer speakers; Nunatsiaq News and VICE report launches and translation errors; no measured user outcome documented.
- Category
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Increased Inclusion
- Status
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Not assessed
- Beneficiary groups
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People. Organizations. Society.
- Beneficiaries
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Not assessed
- Reach
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Not assessed
- Distribution and access
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Not assessed
- Duration
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Not assessed
- Expected?
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Yes
- Costs and harms
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Not assessed
Measurement
- Studies
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Not assessed
- Study design
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Not assessed
- Measurement
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Not assessed
- Setting and sample
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Not assessed
- Measures
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Not assessed
- Comparison
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Not assessed
- Results
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Not assessed
- Additional value from AI
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Not assessed
- Limitations
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Not assessed
- Denominators
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Not assessed
- Materials for replication
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Not assessed
Money
- Kind of value
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Not assessed
- Amount
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Not assessed
- Currency and prices
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Not assessed
- Period and unit
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Not assessed
- Realization
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Not assessed
- Recipients and payers
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Not assessed
- Gross or net
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Not assessed
- Included costs
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Not assessed
- Comparison
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Not assessed
- Method
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Not assessed
- Return and payback
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Not assessed
People and places
- Participants
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Developer:
Microsoft (Azure Cognitive Services Translator and Speech) with the Government of Nunavut and community volunteers, including the Kitikmeot Heritage Society for Inuinnaqtun. Operator: Government of Nunavut; public users of Microsoft Translator, Office and Bing. - Jurisdictions
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Benefit: Nunavut,
Canada. Developer: 
United States. Operator: Canada. - Ownership and control
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Not assessed
- Dependencies
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Not assessed
- Cross-border connections
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Not assessed
- Geopolitical implications
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Not assessed
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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Output is checked by a fluent speaker; Nunavut translators and the languages commissioner describe it as a first step needing review. Dialect differences across the Arctic are tolerated by users of a standardized model.
- Replication attempts
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2 follow-up entries. Outcome unresolved: 2.
- Later findings
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5 December 2024. After the January 2021 launch, Inuinnaqtun and romanized Inuktitut were added in February 2022 and Inuktitut text-to-speech voices launched on 5 December 2024, while presenters still reported word confusions.
- Availability
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Not assessed
- Institutional decision
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Not assessed
- Grounds
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Not assessed
- Action and result
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Not assessed
- Success criterion
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Not assessed
Evidence
- Source numbers
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AIBD-0320-source-0001–0005
- Citations
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Numbered references below.
- Language
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Not assessed
- Source relationships
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Independent, Developer
- Original evidence
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Not assessed
- Access and versions
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Not assessed
- Supported findings
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Not assessed
- Evidence links
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Not assessed
- Evidence strength
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Not assessed
- Missing evidence
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Not assessed
Grades
- Assessed benefits
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People. Organizations. Society.
- Depth
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Not assessed
- Reasons
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People: Users are described (a translator who found errors, a voice contributor planning to use it for her husband's learning). No measured benefit for any person is documented. Organizations: The Government of Nunavut's and Microsoft's stated uses (healthcare communication, Office email, compliance with language law) are expectations without reported data. Society: Language-vitality effects are asserted by officials. VICE notes Inuktut use fell from 72 to 65 percent between 2001 and 2016, without any link to the tool.
- Observed or intended
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Not assessed
- Rubric
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Not assessed
- Assessor and date
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Not assessed
- Alternative assessments
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Not assessed
- Fill
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Independently reported
Entry details
- Kind
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Not assessed
- Related entries
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Not assessed
- Field
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Language technology / Indigenous language access. Public translation tools for Inuktut dialects.
- Purpose
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Built to translate text between Inuktut dialects and other languages (and, from 2024, to read Inuktitut aloud). This lets residents, learners and government users read and write in Inuktut. The launches are that intended use.
- Dates
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Date basis unassessed: 2021 (precision unassessed). Updated: 21 October 2026.
- Stage
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Not assessed
- Version
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SHA-256: 824cfe9e0b63…
References
- Other identifiers
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Not assessed
- Category mappings
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Not assessed
- Brief
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Not assessed
- Revisions
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6 revisions. Latest: 21 October 2026.
Sources
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News report Independent author
Arctic Portal (2021). Inuit language now available in Microsoft Translator! 1 February 2021 (summarises the Microsoft Translator blog of 27 January 2021).
On 27 January 2021 Microsoft announced that they added Inuktitut text translation to their Translator app, Office and Translator for Bing.
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News report Independent author
Cavanagh M (2021). New Tech Can Finally Translate Inuit Language-Sort Of. VICE, 18 February 2021.
Sometimes it's close, but sometimes it gave the opposite meaning, or one that was misleading,
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News report Independent author
Nunatsiaq News (2022). Inuinnaqtun and romanized Inuktitut added to Microsoft Translator. 28 February 2022.
Inuinnaqtun and romanized Inuktitut have been added to Microsoft's translation services as a part of the Nunavut government's annual celebration of the Inuktut languages.
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News report Independent author
Pelletier J (2024). 'My name is Taqqiq, I can read text': Microsoft Translator adds Inuktitut text-to-speech. Nunatsiaq News, 9 December 2024.
Several presenters explained the artificial intelligence mixed up words like condo and condom, and prime rib and prime minister.
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Press release Developer
Microsoft Canada (2022). Government of Nunavut preserving endangered Inuit languages and culture with the help of artificial intelligence and Microsoft. Microsoft News Center Canada, 1 February 2022.
Text translation is based on neural machine translation models.