Katherine discusses the importance of oral stories and African languages in preserving cultural heritage. Due to the endangerment of many African languages, she aims to utilize AI to translate existing English stories and generate new ones in these languages, increasing literacy and online presence. Her ultimate goal is to create accessible AI tools across Africa to promote and preserve these under-resourced languages.
Importance of African Languages
• 00:00:03 Oral stories are crucial in African culture, passing down traditions and keeping cultural practices and languages alive. Many African languages are endangered, with a significant number facing extinction due to a lack of online presence and limited resources. Katherine emphasizes the need to preserve these languages to protect cultural heritage and ensure future generations can continue to use them.
AI for Language Preservation
• 00:00:46 Katherine plans to use AI to translate English stories into African languages and generate new stories using multilingual AI models. This approach is designed to increase literacy rates in African languages, particularly amongst children, by boosting vocabulary and providing accessible content. She aims to increase the visibility of these languages online and promote their usage amongst a broader audience.