The Equity launches AI driven French Translation

For 143 years, The Equity has been the weekly heartbeat of the Pontiac, a trusted voice in a region that largely speaks English. Yet, we’ve always acknowledged our francophone neighbours, dedicating a page in French within the paper since the 1970s. Today, we’re taking a significant leap forward, bringing that commitment to our online presence in a big way.

We’ve deployed artificial intelligence to translate hundreds of articles from the past year, and all future news content will follow suit. The goal is to ensure every reader, regardless of their preferred language, can access the stories that matter to them online.

Visit theequity.ca, and you’ll spot a red “Lire en français” button under article titles. A quick click transforms the headline and content, making local news accessible to everyone, transparently identified as an AI translation, just as we’ve outlined in our AI Policy.

Under the hood, we’re running on our new Calumet AI plugin, a tool we’ve trained specifically for the nuances of the Pontiac.

A standard translation might mangle local specificities like the “Western Quebec School Board,” mistakenly rendering it as ‘Commission scolaire de l’Ouest du Québec’ rather than the correct ‘Commission scolaire Western Quebec.’ Our Calumet AI knows better. It’s been fed the kind of granular, local knowledge that has been identified by local residents who know our area.

This specialized training – the very effort we’ve poured into making The Equity’s translations precise and locally relevant – is embedded in the Calumet AI plugin. That same powerful, locally-aware translation technology is available for your own website. Imagine the impact of reaching potential customers or clients across the Pontiac in their preferred language, all while maintaining that authentic local flavour.

Expanding your reach in a genuinely local way means more than just a literal translation; it means showing you understand and respect the full spectrum of our community. For non-profits hosting with us, the Calumet AI plugin is completely free. For other businesses, it’s available for a small monthly fee, opening up a whole new avenue for connecting with the people you serve. It’s about making your message heard, clearly and authentically, throughout the entire Pontiac.

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