Until very recently, Washington’s Department of Licensing self-service phone line used English in a Spanish accent when you pressed 2 for Spanish.

It was like that for months.

We’ll talk about what might have gone wrong and what it took to fix the issue with Responsible AI Washington's Ryan Burns.

Read Monica Carrillo-Casas' story here.

We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.

Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.

Until very recently, Washington&rsquo;s Department of Licensing self-service phone line used English in a Spanish accent when you pressed 2 for Spanish.
It was like that for months.
We&rsquo;ll talk about what might have gone wrong and what it took to fix the issue with Responsible AI Washington's Ryan Burns.
Read Monica Carrillo-Casas' story <a href="https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/feb/25/washingtons-department-of-licensing-spanish-option/">here</a>.
We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. <a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/seattlenow">Tap here</a> to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.
Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:seattlenow@kuow.org">seattlenow@kuow.org</a>, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or<a href="https://www.kuow.org/feedback"> leave us feedback online</a>.

Seattle Now is KUOW's flagship daily news podcast. Seattle Now brings you quick headlines, smart analysis, and award-winning local news. New episodes every weekday morning and afternoon. Start and end your day with Seattle Now, from KUOW and the NPR Network.

Seattle Now is KUOW's flagship daily news podcast. Seattle Now brings you quick headlines, smart analysis, and award-winning local news. New episodes every weekday morning and afternoon. Start and end your day with Seattle Now, from KUOW and the NPR Network.

Seattle Now

Until very recently, Washington’s Department of Licensing self-service phone line used English in a Spanish accent when you pressed 2 for Spanish.  It was like that for months.  We’ll talk about what might have gone wrong and what it took to fix the issue with Responsible AI Washington's Ryan Burns.