Mountain View Pilots AI Translation System for City Meetings

Mountain View has begun testing an artificial intelligence translation system during public meetings in the City Council chambers, giving residents the ability to follow discussions in more than 60 languages on their personal phones and tablets. The service, known as Wordly, displays live captioning and can stream audio translations directly to users who scan a QR code inside the room.

The tool debuted during an Environmental Planning Commission session before its initial run at a City Council meeting this week. City officials plan to keep the technology active across City Council, Environmental Planning Commission, and Rental Housing Committee hearings. Traditional Spanish and Chinese human interpretation remains available upon advance request through the City Clerk's Office.