Why AI struggles with African languages - and the startup closing the gap | Pelonomi Moiloa

*** Help shape the next season of Made For Us! Please share your feedback in our 4-minute listener survey for the chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card and get instant access to our curated reading list of every book ever recommended on the show: https://forms.gle/pNyrCooa23oYsaVk7---In this episode:What happens when AI doesn’t understand you?For millions of people across Africa, speaking a language that AI doesn’t recognise can be a barrier to accessing services like healthcare and participating in the digital economy.Pelonomi Moiloa is CEO of Lelapa AI, a research and product lab building language AI for a continent with 2,000+ languages. Named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in AI in 2023, Pelonomi unpacks the technical and linguistic challenges she and her team are up against - from the data collection hurdles unique to oral cultures, to the compute constraints on the African continent.In this episode, we discuss:Why mainstream AI struggles with African languagesThe creative approaches Lelapa AI is pioneering since scraping the internet or the archives isn't an optionWhat Pelonomi really thinks about being called one of the most influential people in AIAbout Pelonomi MoiloaPelonomi Moiloa is CEO of Lelapa AI, a socially-grounded research and product lab driving AI for Africans by Africans. A biomedical and electrical engineer by training, Pelonomi has spent almost a decade deriving insights from data to address complex problems.Learn more about Lelapa AI: https://lelapa.aiFollow Lelapa AI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lelapa-ai/Follow Pelonomi Moiloa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pelonomi-moiloa---Love what you heard? Leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It makes our day (and helps others find the show).Other episodes you might like:What's in a name? When your device thinks you're a typo---Connect with Made for UsShow notes and transcripts: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/madeforuspodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeforuspodcast/Newsletter: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/