AI, Decoloniality and the Ethics of Translating Low-Resource Languages

Date - 19 February, Thursday 2026

Venue- EFI 3.35 Edinburgh Futures Institute

Organiser- Dr. Deepshikha Behera (IASH Digital Research Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Edinburgh)

Discussants-

Prof. Matthew Reynolds (Oxford Comparative Criticism and Translation Centre, University of Oxford)

Dr. Joseph Hankinson (Oxford Comparative Criticism and Translation Centre, University of Oxford),

Prof. Peter Bell (Institute of Language, Cognition and Computation,University of Edinburgh)

Dr. Adam Lopez (Institute of Language, Cognition and Computation, University of Edinburgh)

Dr Caterina Moruzzi (School of Design, University of Edinburgh)

Dr. Zee Talat (School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh)

Jacqueline Rowe (CDT, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh)

This one day interdisciplinary workshop supported by the Centre for Data, Culture and Society and held in collaboration with Oxford Comparative Criticism and Translation Centre, University of Oxford, Institute for Language Cognition and Computation (University of Edinburgh), the cluster on Creativity, AI and the Human (Edinburgh Futures Institute) and Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities is aimed at fostering an interdisciplinary exchange of ideas across scholars of critical humanities and natural language processing to understand the complications emerging in LLM assisted translation, especially those related to decoloniality and low-resource languages.

As LLMs continue to alter the manner in which literature and language is understood, it demands immediate attention to address the ethical concerns emerging from such widespread practices within the academic community but also among the larger public. Mistranslations, auto-translations and the reproduction of cultural and colonial bias in these models lend to a subsequent appropriation and homogenisation of linguistic and cultural differences that form the very core of marginalised identities. Attempts at preserving and digitising or projects aimed at such AI intervention for social good often lend to a reinforcing of data colonialism as these models are built on the epistemology of the ‘Global North’.

This workshop is aimed at understanding the importance of dialogue across scholars of different disciplines who can aid each other’s understanding of AI translation and the ethical and linguistic concerns that emerge from our conscious use of such systems. Inviting members from University of Oxford’s AI, Decoloniality and Creative Poetry Translation project of which the organiser is also a collaborator, this workshop invites everyone interested in questioning the changing contours of language use in a growing AI aided translation environment. By collaborating with CDCS, ILCC, and Creativity, AI and the Human cluster, scholars specialising in orality and speech technologies are welcome. This workshop aims to rethink the notion of decoloniality in AI and what it means to consciously engage with systems by centering the ethics of Human within the Human-AI dynamics and is organised with an aim to encourage conversation and disciplinary exchange of ideas.

SCHEDULE:

12:30 - 13:30 GMT (OPENING REMARKS AND INITIATE IDEAS)

13:30- 14:30 GMT (LUNCH FOR ALL REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS)

14:30- 15:30 GMT (RESUME DISCUSSION)

15:30- 15:45 GMT (TEA BREAK)

15:45- 16:30 GMT (CONCLUDE)

This event will take place in room 3.35 at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. Please inform us of any access requirements by emailing [email protected]. Further details about how CDCS uses your information obtained from booking onto our events can be found in our Events Privacy Statement.

Image credits: Rose Willis & Kathryn Conrad- Better Images of AI

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Edinburgh Futures Institute, The University of Edinburgh, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

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