Orange Partners with OpenAI to Develop AI Models for African Languages
2 Sources
2 Sources
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Orange to use OpenAI's latest models to work with African languages
STOCKHOLM, Aug 5 (Reuters) - French mobile operator Orange (ORAN.PA), opens new tab said on Tuesday it plans to use OpenAI's latest AI models with African languages. The benefits of AI models have largely bypassed African languages, numbering over 2,000, due to challenges such as lack of data and limited computational resources, according to researchers, opens new tab at Cornell University in the United States and a report by journal Nature. Orange, which provides telecom services in 18 African countries, signed a deal with OpenAI last year to get access to its pre-release AI models and fine-tune large language models to translate regional African languages. It said it started working with African languages this year using OpenAI's Whisper speech model, but the new models can extend this work to far more complex uses. OpenAI's first open-weight models have trained parameters, or weights, which are publicly accessible and can be used by developers such as Orange to tweak the models for specific tasks without requiring original training data. Orange plans to fine-tune the models with its collected samples of African regional languages and deploy them locally. "We plan to provide the fine-tuned models for free to local governments and public authorities," Orange's Chief AI Officer Steve Jarrett told Reuters. "We see this initiative as a blueprint for how AI can help bridge the digital divide: by collaborating with local startups and communities, Orange and OpenAI hope to catalyze an ecosystem where African languages are first-class citizens in the AI realm," Jarrett said. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence Supantha Mukherjee Thomson Reuters Supantha leads the European Technology and Telecoms coverage, with a special focus on emerging technologies such as AI and 5G. He has been a journalist for about 18 years. He joined Reuters in 2006 and has covered a variety of beats ranging from financial sector to technology. He is based in Stockholm, Sweden.
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Orange to use OpenAI's latest models to work with African languages
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -French mobile operator Orange said on Tuesday it plans to use OpenAI's latest AI models with African languages. The benefits of AI models have largely bypassed African languages, numbering over 2,000, due to challenges such as lack of data and limited computational resources, according to researchers at Cornell University in the United States and a report by journal Nature. Orange, which provides telecom services in 18 African countries, signed a deal with OpenAI last year to get access to its pre-release AI models and fine-tune large language models to translate regional African languages. It said it started working with African languages this year using OpenAI's Whisper speech model, but the new models can extend this work to far more complex uses. OpenAI's first open-weight models have trained parameters, or weights, which are publicly accessible and can be used by developers such as Orange to tweak the models for specific tasks without requiring original training data. Orange plans to fine-tune the models with its collected samples of African regional languages and deploy them locally. "We plan to provide the fine-tuned models for free to local governments and public authorities," Orange's Chief AI Officer Steve Jarrett told Reuters. "We see this initiative as a blueprint for how AI can help bridge the digital divide: by collaborating with local startups and communities, Orange and OpenAI hope to catalyze an ecosystem where African languages are first-class citizens in the AI realm," Jarrett said. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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French telecom giant Orange collaborates with OpenAI to create AI models that work with African languages, aiming to bridge the digital divide and promote linguistic diversity in AI technology.
Orange's Ambitious AI Initiative for African Languages
French mobile operator Orange has announced a groundbreaking partnership with OpenAI to develop artificial intelligence models capable of working with African languages
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. This initiative aims to address a significant gap in AI technology, as the benefits of AI models have largely bypassed the over 2,000 African languages due to challenges such as lack of data and limited computational resources1
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Source: Market Screener
Expanding AI Capabilities in Africa
Orange, which provides telecom services in 18 African countries, signed a deal with OpenAI last year to gain access to pre-release AI models
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. The company has already begun working with African languages this year using OpenAI's Whisper speech model. However, the latest models from OpenAI are expected to extend this work to far more complex applications2
.Leveraging OpenAI's Open-Weight Models
The collaboration will utilize OpenAI's first open-weight models, which have trained parameters, or weights, that are publicly accessible
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. This feature allows developers like Orange to fine-tune the models for specific tasks without requiring original training data, making it easier to adapt the technology to various African languages2
.Orange's Plans for Implementation and Distribution
Source: Reuters
Orange intends to fine-tune these models using collected samples of African regional languages and deploy them locally
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. In a significant move towards accessibility and public benefit, Orange's Chief AI Officer Steve Jarrett stated, "We plan to provide the fine-tuned models for free to local governments and public authorities"1
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.Bridging the Digital Divide
This initiative is seen as a potential blueprint for using AI to bridge the digital divide. By collaborating with local startups and communities, Orange and OpenAI aim to catalyze an ecosystem where African languages become "first-class citizens in the AI realm," according to Jarrett
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. This approach could significantly impact the representation and inclusion of African languages in AI technology.Related Stories
Challenges and Opportunities
The project addresses the challenges highlighted by researchers at Cornell University and reported in the journal Nature, which include the lack of data and limited computational resources for African languages
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. By focusing on these underrepresented languages, Orange and OpenAI are taking a step towards more inclusive AI development that could have far-reaching implications for technological accessibility and cultural preservation in Africa.Future Implications
This collaboration between a major telecom provider and a leading AI research company could set a precedent for similar initiatives worldwide. It demonstrates the potential for AI to not only advance technologically but also to address issues of linguistic and cultural diversity in the digital age. The success of this project could pave the way for more inclusive AI development strategies that consider the needs of diverse global communities.
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