TITAN Lecture Series: Human Rights and Artificial Intelligence

🗓 October 31, 2025, at 9:30 a.m.
📍 Online and Aula Magna, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Universitat Jaume I
💻 Free registration: https://bit.ly/UJI-31-10-25
🌐 More information: www.blogs.uji.es/titan/

The TITAN (Translation and Interpreting Technologies Accountability Network) project will hold a new lecture in its ongoing series devoted to exploring the ethical, legal, and sociocultural dimensions of artificial intelligence in translation and interpreting. This session focuses on the intersection between linguistic rights, language policy, and AI-based language technologies, addressing both the opportunities and the systemic challenges that shape the future of a multilingual world.

First Lecture (9.30 am)

Fernando Ramallo (Universidade de Vigo)
“Rights, Languages and Legislation: Relevance and Limits of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages”

In his lecture, Professor Ramallo will examine the persistence of sociolinguistic inequalities rooted in the historical formation of liberal nation-states and perpetuated through current language policies. While the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (1992) represents an important symbolic commitment to linguistic diversity, its practical impact remains limited. Ramallo will discuss the absence of binding legal mechanisms and the interpretative ambiguities that undermine its effectiveness. Drawing on the concept of “state effort” (Ramallo 2019), he argues for a shift towards legally enforceable commitments, equitable funding mechanisms, and policies that prioritize linguistic justice over hegemonic hierarchies.

Second Lecture (11.00 am)

Marta García González (Universidade de Vigo)
“AI-Based Language Technologies for Minoritized Languages: Is a Balance Between Benefits and Costs Possible?”

Professor García González will explore the complex balance between the technological benefits and the social, environmental, and ethical costs of AI-driven language technologies. While artificial intelligence can play a vital role in preserving and revitalizing minoritized languages, its large-scale development and deployment entail significant environmental footprints — from carbon emissions and water consumption to resource depletion and electronic waste. The lecture will also address regulatory gaps and ethical dilemmas related to data governance, resource allocation, and technological equity. Ultimately, García González will discuss the need for multidisciplinary collaboration that places community needs, environmental responsibility, and the protection of fundamental rights at the center of the design and implementation of future language technologies.

This event contributes to TITAN’s broader mission of fostering accountability and responsibility in the development and use of translation and interpreting technologies, with a particular emphasis on human rights and social justice in multilingual communication.