French telecommunications company Orange is collaborating with OpenAI and Meta to develop custom AI models that can understand West African languages.
The project aims to address the current limitations of AI systems that primarily use data from the United States.
The initiative will initially focus on two regional languages: Wolof and Pulaar, spoken by approximately 16 million and 6 million people respectively. Orange plans to roll out these AI models in early 2025, to eventually cover all 18 West African countries.
Steve Jarrett, Orange’s chief AI officer, explained that existing AI models struggle to understand regional languages and cultural contexts.
By fine-tuning open-source models like OpenAI’s Whisper and Meta’s Llama, the company hopes to create more inclusive AI technology.
The project aligns with the concept of “sovereign AI,” which emphasizes local control over technological infrastructure. Orange will provide these AI models with a free license for non-commercial uses, including public health and education.
Beyond language models, Orange is also exploring AI applications in network management, using the technology to predict and prevent network failures before they impact customers.
This partnership represents a significant step towards creating more culturally and linguistically diverse AI systems that can better serve local communities.