India speaks over 100 languages. Microsoft wants AI to bridge its linguistic gaps

Depending on how you count, India has at least 120 languages, and another 1,300 “mother tongues,” an Indian term that refers to local dialects. The country’s government recognizes 22 languages but primarily operates in just two: Hindi, mostly spoken in India’s north, and English. That excludes tens of thousands of Indians who speak neither.

Enter Microsoft’s AI for Good initiative—the tech giant’s umbrella program that tries to use AI to solve problems in health, environmental protection, and human development. The U.S. company has used India to pilot several novel uses of the new technology, such as an app that uses AI to tell farmers the best time to sow seeds or a model that uses satellite images to forecast how a natural disaster might hurt a vulnerable population. 

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