Orange, the French telecoms operator, announced plans to collaborate with OpenAI and Meta to enhance large language models (LLMs) for translating regional African languages. This initiative, set to launch in the first half of 2025, will focus on incorporating West African languages into OpenAI’s “Whisper” and Meta’s “Llama” software. The project aims to address the challenges posed by the dominance of English in AI training, which often leaves less widely spoken languages underrepresented due to limited training content.
Leveraging its expertise in African markets, Orange intends to provide data to support the development of these language models. An Orange representative highlighted the company’s familiarity with these languages through its customer service applications and ongoing work in the region. This experience, coupled with Orange’s extensive presence in Africa, positions the company to facilitate AI training on diverse and extensive local content, improving the accuracy and usability of the models.
Once operational, the enhanced models will enable customers to interact with Orange’s customer support in their native languages and be offered externally for non-commercial purposes, such as public health and education initiatives. Additionally, Orange has signed an agreement with OpenAI to gain direct access to its AI models in Europe, further strengthening its commitment to AI-driven innovation and accessibility.
- Tags: AI, Meta, Open AI, Orange, Orange partners with Open AI and Meta
