At first glance, artificial intelligence (AI) may not seem like a useful tool for strengthening a library’s cultural competence. But a free video translation service called HeyGen has revealed some of the ways AI can help libraries reach speakers of diverse languages. HeyGen has the ability to take a talking-head video and translate it into another language, synchronizing the audio with lip movements. The company is mindful of ethical concerns; its mission statement asserts, “We are committed to protecting our users, and their privacy, promoting transparency while mitigating risks associated with evolving AI technologies through proactive and meaningful policies, continuous monitoring, effective enforcement, and user education.” 

To test HeyGen’s technology, I translated one of my English talking-head videos into French. I speak French and was delighted with the quality of the translation—it felt almost magical.

I created a website to showcase the potential of this AI service using my English-language video book review of The Little Free Library Book.

A Real-World Example

One of my friends is married to a Japanese translator, so I asked them about the quality of the Japanese translation. The feedback was that it was good, though not excellent. My sense is that the quality of these translations will continue to improve, so it’s worth dipping your library’s toes into this technology now.

Here’s a real-world example of how this could be used. Last month, a community member from Kyrgyzstan visited my public library for the first time. I welcomed her and noticed the pride of place in her voice. We chatted about Kyrgyzstan for a while. I thought it would be a nice surprise if, on her next visit, I had a video book review ready in the Kyrgyz language. 

Unfortunately, HeyGen doesn’t yet offer Kyrgyz as a target language—but it does offer Kazakh, which is closely related. So I translated my English video book review into Kazakh. Next time she visits, I’ll casually mention that I make video book reviews in both English and Kazakh. Then I’ll pull up the Kazakh video on my smartphone—and see her reaction.

HeyGen Use at the Library

It’s helpful to know that the free version of HeyGen allows users to create up to three videos per month, each with a maximum duration of 3 minutes. Practically speaking, if your library has 10 staff members, you could be making up to 30 multilingual videos for free each month. Beyond this, the Creator account, at $29 per month, allows videos up to 30 minutes in length.

AI-translated videos can help your library produce multilingual storytelling content. They can also help you share your library’s own story—explaining policies and procedures in multiple languages. Imagine a refugee arriving in your community and seeing their language represented on your library’s website. It’s a simple and powerful way of saying: You matter.

Cultural competence enhances interpersonal communication and helps librarians build trust with patrons. Try using AI video translation to boost your library’s cultural competence. The social cohesion it fosters can be priceless. You’re building bridges, not walls—and that’s exactly what libraries should be doing.