AI-Powered Language Access and a City Built on Belonging

Arunan Arulampalam leads Hartford with a story that reflects the cityʼs diversity. Born in Zimbabwe to a Sri Lankan Tamil family that fled civil war, he came to the U.S., built a career in law and public service, and made his name tackling blight and expanding homeownership as CEO of the Hartford Land Bank and a deputy commissioner at Connecticutʼs Department of Consumer Protection. In 2023, he was elected Hartfordʼs first Asian American mayor.

Arulampalamʼs push to deploy AI-powered real-time translation at city council and school board meetings is a direct extension of that lived experience. In a city where an estimated 50 languages are spoken, he has framed language access as fundamental to democratic participation. The new system uses AI to translate remarks between English and other languages in real time so residents who donʼt speak English fluently can follow debates, testify, and understand decisions as they happen, whether theyʼre in the council chambers or watching from home.

For Arulampalam, AI translation is also a signal of where he wants the cityʼs economy and workforce to go. Hartford is positioning itself as a regional center for applied AI, working with Google Public Sector on a proposed $90 million AI center near Dunkinʼ Park and competing for state Innovation Cluster funding to grow local tech talent. He has argued that the city hall must model the kind of innovation it wants to attract. If residents see practical, people-centered uses of AI in core services like translation, permitting, and 311, theyʼre more likely to trust both the technology and the cityʼs claim to be an AI hub.

Taken together with his earlier work on vacant properties and neighborhood investment, Arulampalamʼs translation push is part of a broader attempt to redefine Hartford as a place where immigrant families, long-time residents, and new employers can all see themselves in the cityʼs future. By using AI to lower language barriers in the most public rooms of local government, he is betting that technical infrastructure, civic trust, and economic development can move in sync.

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