India Pushes for Voice-Based AI Models to Make Technology More Accessible

The Indian government is focusing on developing voice-based AI models that can interact in local languages, instead of just text-based models like those from OpenAI or Google. This move is aimed at making AI more accessible to people who may not be comfortable using text or English, particularly in rural areas and among non-tech-savvy individuals.

Currently, global AI systems are often designed for English or a few other languages, leaving out many Indian languages. The government's goal is to create AI models specifically trained on Indian languages, which will work better for the diverse linguistic needs of the population. This will allow people, such as farmers or students, to interact with AI through voice in their native dialects, making technology more user-friendly.

To support this, the government is funding initiatives from startups, universities, and companies to develop these voice-based models. They have received 67 proposals and are working on creating a national dataset platform to help AI developers build and test these systems. The push for voice-based AI aims to bridge the digital divide, making AI more inclusive and accessible.