{"id":50867,"date":"2023-08-22T14:43:06","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T14:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/ai-will-soon-master-african-languages-experts"},"modified":"2023-08-22T14:56:56","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T14:56:56","slug":"ai-will-soon-master-african-languages-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/ai-will-soon-master-african-languages-experts","title":{"rendered":"AI will soon master African languages-experts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>A group of scientists in Africa is working to create advanced artificial intelligence tools specifically designed for African languages, The East African reports.<\/p>\n

According to Masakhane Research Foundation\u2019s Kathleen Siminyu, widely used AI technologies such as text-generating ChatGPT and voice-activated Siri are inaccessible to billions of people who do not speak mainstream languages such as English, French and Spanish hence the necessity for greater inclusivity and representation in language technology advancement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t make sense to me that there are limited AI tools for African languages. Inclusion and representation in the advancement of language technology is not a patch you put at the end \u2014 it\u2019s something you think about upfront,\u201d said Ms Siminyu.<\/p>\n

Holding significant value<\/p>\n

Many of these tools rely on a field of AI called natural language processing, a technology that enables computers to understand human languages. Computers can master a language through training, where they pick up on patterns in speech and text data. They fail when data in a particular language is scarce, as is the case with African languages.<\/p>\n

To fill the gap, the research team first identified key players involved in developing African language tools and explored their experience, motivation, focuses, and challenges. These people include writers and editors who create and curate content, as well as linguists, software engineers, and entrepreneurs who are crucial in establishing the infrastructure for language tools.<\/p>\n

Interviews with the key players revealed four crucial considerations in designing African language tools, including Africa\u2019s multilingual society dilemma that necessitates acknowledging the impact of colonisation whereby indigenous languages hold significant cultural value alongside their pivotal role in facilitating societal participation across education systems, political landscapes and economic spheres.<\/p>\n

Second, there is a need to support African content creation. This includes building basic tools such as dictionaries, spell checkers, and keyboards for African languages and removing financial and administrative barriers for translating government communications to multiple national languages, which includes African languages.<\/p>\n

While also nurturing collaboration between linguistics and computer science, the intersection at which these two fields can lead to human-centred innovative solutions.<\/p>\n

There is, however, the need for adherence to ethical practices and prioritise community involvement throughout data collection and use processes.<\/p>\n

Next, the team will address barriers that may hinder people\u2019s access to the technology. The study should serve as a roadmap to help develop a wide range of language tools, from translation services to misinformation-catching content moderators.<\/p>\n

The findings may also pave the way to preserve indigenous African languages.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love for us to live in a world where Africans can have as good quality of life and access to information and opportunities as somebody fluent in English, French, Mandarin, or other languages,\u201d says Siminyu.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a growing number of organisations working in this space, and this study allows us to coordinate efforts in building impactful language tools,\u201d says Siminyu. \u201cThe findings highlight and articulate what the priorities are, in terms of time and financial investments.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. A group of scientists in Africa is working to create advanced artificial intelligence tools specifically designed for African languages, The East African reports. According to Masakhane Research Foundation\u2019s Kathleen Siminyu, widely used AI technologies such as text-generating ChatGPT and voice-activated Siri are inaccessible to billions of people who do not speak mainstream […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":50865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,31],"tags":[760,763,758],"class_list":["post-50867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-miscellaneous","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nAI will soon master African languages-experts - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A group of scientists in Africa is working to create advanced artificial intelligence tools specifically designed for Af ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/ai-will-soon-master-african-languages-experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AI will soon master African languages-experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A group of scientists in Africa is working to create advanced artificial intelligence tools specifically designed for Af ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/ai-will-soon-master-african-languages-experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-22T14:43:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-22T14:56:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/08\/sm_1692703559.080651.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"562\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/ai-will-soon-master-african-languages-experts#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/ai-will-soon-master-african-languages-experts\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"AI will soon master African languages-experts\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-22T14:43:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-22T14:56:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/ai-will-soon-master-african-languages-experts\"},\"wordCount\":513,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/ai-will-soon-master-african-languages-experts#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/08\/sm_1692703559.080651.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Miscellaneous\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/ai-will-soon-master-african-languages-experts#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/ai-will-soon-master-african-languages-experts\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/ai-will-soon-master-african-languages-experts\",\"name\":\"AI will soon master African languages-experts - 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