Washington DOL's AI Phone System Provided English Instead of Spanish to Callers
The Washington Department of Licensing's automated phone system provided English-language responses instead of Spanish to callers who selected the Spanish-language option. The issue, first reported in July 2025, became widely known after a viral TikTok video in February 2026, and the department has acknowledged the technical problem and is working on a fix.
What happened
Callers to the Washington Department of Licensing who selected the Spanish-language option on the automated phone system heard English spoken with a Hispanic accent instead of Spanish. The system is designed to offer recorded responses to general questions in 10 languages during non-business hours.
The issue was initially reported by Maya Edwards in a TikTok video posted July 29, 2025, but received little attention. The video was reposted in February 2026 and went viral, accumulating over 1.8 million views. The Spokesman-Review and Spokane Public Radio independently confirmed the problem on February 25, 2026.
Reported impact
Edwards noted that while her bilingual husband was not hindered by the error, she expressed concern about the impact on callers who do not speak English. The affected feature was pulled while the department investigates.
Index analysis
The Department of Licensing attributed the problem to technical issues with newer technology in the self-service system. The agency stated it was examining how the error occurred and working on a fix involving upgrades and testing of all languages.
Governance controls
The department apologized for the inconvenience and stated it was working to fix the issue as quickly as possible. The self-service option would be restarted once running smoothly and all language testing was complete.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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