How Big Tech firms are rushing to train AI in Indian languages

Users of smart devices in India often find their artificial intelligence (AI) search assistants’ inability to decipher their accent a major deterrent to using voice commands.

Indian mobile and web consumers speak in 30 languages and around 1,600 dialects. The BBC estimates only 125 million Indians are English speakers; most have regional and local accents.

Says Prashanth Kaddi, partner at Deloitte India: “For each accent, there is a definitive set of phonemes that the AI-powered bot must comprehend to be more inclusive. To expand the product’s scope of acceptance and improve user experience, companies must introduce diverse training models and