French telecommunications provider Orange will partner with OpenAI and Meta to fine-tune AI Large Language models (LLMs) to understand regional languages in Africa that today are not understood by any GenAI model.
The project aims to develop custom AI models capable of allowing customers to communicate naturally in their local languages with Orange for customer support and sales.
The open-source AI models will also be provided externally by Orange with a free license for non-commercial use such as for public health, public education, and a range of other services.
"Orange intends to help drive AI innovation in these regional languages including by collaborating on these new AI models with local startups and other technology companies, and by doing so, to mitigate the growing digital divide faced by people all across the African continent," Orange stated in its announcement.
The initiative, commencing in the first half of 2025, will initially focus on incorporating regional languages, namely Wolof and Pulaar, spoken by 16 million people and six million people, respectively, in West Africa
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Orange says its long-term goal is to work with many AI technology providers to enable future models to recognise all African languages spoken and written across Orange’s 18-country footprint in the region.
"By fine-tuning leading AI models such as OpenAI’s ‘Whisper’ speech model and Meta’s ‘Llama’ text model with diverse examples of these languages, we will enable them to better understand these regional languages," Orange said.
"Orange’s vision is to make AI and other related advances accessible to all, including illiterate populations, who are currently unable to benefit from the potential of artificial intelligence.
"The initiative is a blueprint for how AI can be used to benefit those currently excluded."
OpenAI and Orange have also signed an agreement that will provide Orange with direct access to OpenAI’s models, available for the first time in Europe with data processing and hosting in European data centres.
According to Orange, the new partnership will also facilitate early access to OpenAI’s latest and most advanced AI models, enabling the realisation of other key use cases such as AI-based voice interactions with Orange customers.