Add automated translation support for rosetta

[AgustinVallejo]

Recently we were talking about the viability of including an automated translation tool that could leverage AI to speed up translations. I'll be pushing commits to this issue, currently working on the branch 'automate'

Related to phetsims/chipper#1570

[jbphet]

In the 4/3/2025 status meeting, @AgustinVallejo demonstrated a prototype of AI-powered automatic translation where the client side code requested values for each of the strings and filled in the translation form. This was very well received by the team.

We've been given clearance to spend time on a more complete prototype of this functionality. @AgustinVallejo and I were just talking about the goals for this prototype effort. Here is what we've come up with:

• The ability to use the feature will be easy to show or hide based on something like a query parameter
• Requests for AI-generated values would be made by the server and sent to the client (instead of having direct AI-client interaction)
• The UI will include the ability to accept or reject AI-generated string values
• The server code will be set up such that we can easily account credentials - and possibly the LLM - being used for auto-translation
• The server code will include caching of the AI generated values to prevent excessive costs being incurred from our testing and, once deployed, overuse by translators
• The system will include the capability to store info in the string files (i.e. the ones that go in the babel repo) to identify strings that were auto-generated by AI and submitted without alteration

[jbphet]

@AgustinVallejo and I just brainstormed the development plan for the prototype mentioned in the previous comment. Here it is as a set of sequential checkbox items:

• Clarify the goals of this effort, write them up in a GitHub issue
• Figure out a good way, like a query parameter, to enable the appearance of Auto-Translate button
• Plan how we will make the client-server relationship work. Server side events seem like a good bet.
• Add a stubbed route that just returns success
• Add the button, make it only appear when the query param is in place
• Inch Pebble: Button appears and is pressable, but only when query parameter is present
• Add the code for the server side such that it sends stubbed or random responses for everything not translated
• Add code to display the AI-provided strings in a distinct way, distinguishable from the manually translated values
• Inch Pebble: Stubbed version of the route exists and works to fill in the translation form
• Inch Pebble: Accept/Decline capability exists in the UI
• Inch Pebble: AI requests work and provide values for the strings
• Inch Pebble: Caching exists where AI-translated values are kept around and can be re-provided to prevent spamming of Auto Translate button
• Inch Pebble: The capability to track fully AI-translated strings exists
• Inch Pebble: Using a more general AI routing system to support model changing on command. Also register what model is being used per translation.

[AgustinVallejo]

@jbphet I added a ?showAutomate query parameter in the automate branch, which toggles the visibility of the green automation button. It has to be added on the locale url, i.e. /translate/<locale>/<simName>?showAutomate

[AgustinVallejo]

Got this to a pretty good spot, there's just a couple of things I couldn't figure out and would be good to pair on:

• Change the queryParameter to rather being a team member (isTeamMember)
• Because objects organize themselves alphabetically, the auto-translation does common before shared keys, so in sims with shared strings it gives the impression of not working because it's translating the common ones first. I'd like to fix this.
• I think the AI metadata values are being passed correctly but I couldn't get to testing them because I don't have mongodb configured, perhaps that's something we should look into.
• Explanation that you have to accept/deny auto translations before saving or publishing. Look up the publish dialog.
• Add the patch for exposing a11y keys
• Measure how much a sim costs to translate, be it with a11y and without.
• Talk to ON to think ahead how to finance the API cost for development, i.e. setting up a PhET account etc etc
• Checking the merge diff to see if the branch is good to implement into main. Merging of the automation feature into main #458 and do a regression test