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AI-Assisted Document Translation for Government Staff

Translation & Language Access

What it collects that can identify you

Sensitive personal information
Identifiable data
  • User-uploaded documents may contain sensitive personal information up to and including Protected B classified data. The register notes documents may contain personal information of unknown content, which triggered the original deployment need.

Government of Canada AI Register — GAC Translate

Also collects about behaviour, which is anonymized data.

Run by
Global Affairs Canada (GAC)
Where
No fixed location
Kept
Not stated by the Helpful Places.
Shared with
Accountable organization

What it is for

Translation & Language Access

GAC Translate is an AI-powered tool that allows Government of Canada employees to upload documents and receive translations from most world languages, handling information up to the Protected B classification. It was originally built to help staff quickly assess whether documents containing unknown or personal content required official translation, and has since expanded to all Global Affairs Canada users. Users are informed that AI is involved in the translation process.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

Sensitive personal information
Identifiable data
  • User-uploaded documents may contain sensitive personal information up to and including Protected B classified data. The register notes documents may contain personal information of unknown content, which triggered the original deployment need.

Government of Canada AI Register — GAC Translate

About behaviour
Anonymized data
  • User-uploaded documents may capture records of activities, communications, or actions by individuals. The content type is unknown prior to upload, but may include behavioural or transactional records.

Government of Canada AI Register — GAC Translate

Processing

Language Models
  • The translation system uses language model technology to parse and re-express document content across most world languages. The specific underlying model or vendor is not disclosed in the register entry.

Government of Canada AI Register — GAC Translate

What it does

Understanding (Semantic AI)
Human decides
  • The system understands the meaning and structure of text in the source language in order to produce a translation. Human staff review the AI-produced translation output to decide whether an official, human translation is required.

Government of Canada AI Register — GAC Translate

Creating (Generative AI)
Human decides
  • The translation engine generates new text in the target language. The translated output did not previously exist — it is synthesized by the AI from the uploaded source document. A human reviews the result to determine whether official translation is required.

Government of Canada AI Register — GAC Translate

Outputs

Generated content
Identifiable data
  • The system produces translated documents — newly generated text in the target language. Because the source documents may contain personal information up to Protected B, the translated output may also contain identifiable personal information.

Government of Canada AI Register — GAC Translate

A recommendation or prediction
Anonymized data
  • The translated document serves as an advisory output that helps staff determine whether the document requires immediate and official translation — it is a decision-support tool rather than a binding determination.

Government of Canada AI Register — GAC Translate

Run by

Global Affairs Canada (GAC)
  • Global Affairs Canada is the federal department that deploys and operates GAC Translate for its employees and, since expansion, for all GAC users across the department.

Government of Canada AI Register — GAC Translate

Built by

Government of Canada
  • The system was developed by the Government of Canada, indicating internal development rather than a third-party commercial vendor.

Government of Canada AI Register — GAC Translate

Kept for

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Shared with

Available to the accountable organization
  • Translated documents and uploaded source documents are accessible to the accountable organization, Global Affairs Canada, and are used by GC employees in the course of their duties.

Government of Canada AI Register — GAC Translate

Stored

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

How to read the colours

Can it identify you?

Anonymized data
Data about people with the link to who is broken. Stripped of identifiers, blurred, aggregated, or noised so this system can’t reasonably tie a record back to an individual.
Pseudonymous data
Each person’s data is tied to a token (hash, ID, template) that lets this system recognise the same person across events, but the token itself doesn’t reveal a name. Reidentification is possible with extra information.
Identifiable data
The data either contains a direct identifier (name, address, account name, recognisable face or voice, plate number) or carries a token this system uses to look up legal identity during processing.

Who completes the loop?

Human decides
This mode suggests; a person decides what to do next. The AI is always advisory — a human is in the loop on every decision. Example: a triage tool ranks cases for a clinician who chooses which to see first.
Human executes
This mode decides; a person carries out the result. Example: an optimizer plans the day’s trash-collection routes, and drivers run them.
Autonomous
This mode decides and acts on its own. No person reviews each decision or carries out the resulting action.

Definitions from the DTPR standard. Amber is about your data, violet about who decides. The fuller the shape and the deeper the colour, the more identifying the data or the less a person is involved.

What you can do

Ask about this system

Questions go to the Helpful Places, not the vendor.

Your rights

  • Right to Be Informed of AI UseAI use is disclosed to users of the system. Government of Canada employees are informed that AI is involved in the translation process. The register explicitly records that AI use is disclosed to users.

Risks and safeguards

  • Civil liberties harmAI translation of documents containing personal information up to Protected B classification could expose sensitive personal data or produce inaccurate translations of legally or personally significant content, potentially affecting individuals whose information appears in translated documents.Safeguard: AI use is disclosed to users; the system is positioned as a triage tool with human review before any official decision is made; access is limited to Government of Canada employees with appropriate security clearance for Protected B handling.
  • Reputational harmMistranslation of documents containing personal or official information could result in incorrect characterization of individuals, potentially damaging reputations through errors in translated records.Safeguard: The system is explicitly a triage tool; outputs are advisory and reviewed by human staff before any official translation or action is taken. AI use is disclosed to users.