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SEATTLE (AP) — Need Spanish assistance? Press “two” for a Spanish-accented English response.
For several months, individuals contacting the Washington state Department of Licensing and selecting the automated Spanish service have instead been met with an AI voice delivering instructions in English, albeit with a pronounced Spanish accent. The department has since issued an apology and is actively working to resolve this issue.
Last summer, Maya Edwards, a resident of Washington, discovered the peculiar AI response when her Mexican husband opted for the Spanish-language option while inquiring about his driver’s license. Despite being fluent in both languages, he chose the Spanish option to avoid the lengthy wait times for English-speaking customer service.
For Edwards, the experience was reminiscent of a scene from “Parks and Recreation,” a mockumentary-style show that humorously critiques local government operations.
“In that moment, we found it amusing because it was so bizarre,” she remarked on Thursday. “Yet, it presents real challenges for those who rely on non-English language services daily.”
Earlier this month, Edwards called the number again and found the error persisted. She posted a video of the call to TikTok, racking up around 2 million views.
“DOL apologizes for the error and to its customers for any inconvenience,” the statement said. “An unfortunate byproduct of expanding services is that DOL found problems with the self-service option.”
The agency declined to share the name of the AI vendor providing the translation service, referring the question to WaTech, the state’s interagency IT service. A spokesperson for the agency did not immediately provide the name of the vendor following AP voice and email messages requesting it.
Thursday morning, the call line still put on the voice after a message, in English, acknowledging that the some translation services are no functioning properly.
When an AP reporter followed prompts for Spanish-language options, he was met with an accented English voice accent that would only say numbers in Spanish.
“Your estimated wait time is less than ‘tres’ minutes,” the voice said.