TED Talks Daily The giant leaps in language technology — and who's left behind | Kalika Bali
Apr 12, 2021
Kalika Bali, a computational linguist at Microsoft Research Labs India, is on a mission to create language technology for those often overlooked. She reveals that while thousands of languages exist, only a fraction benefit from modern speech tech. Bali discusses the dire consequences of language omission from the digital world and highlights Project Elora's work to support languages like Gondi. She passionately advocates for inclusive systems that empower communities and protect linguistic heritage, proving that technology can be a bridge, not a barrier.
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Language Technology Gap
- Giant leaps in language technology are currently limited to a small number of languages.
- This creates a widening digital divide, impacting communities who speak less-resourced languages.
Gondi Language Project
- The Gondi language, spoken by 3 million people, has limited tech support.
- Project Elora collaborated with various stakeholders, including the Gond community, to create resources like children's books and a text-to-speech app.
Marathi Data Collection
- In Amle, a village with limited technology, data collection for Marathi revealed unexpected insights.
- The villagers showed pride in their language and used the recordings for community storytelling.