KOCHI: From palm manuscripts to printing press and later, websites – how we store and read information has changed drastically in the span of a few centuries. The latest in that natural evolution is large language models (LLMs).
Heeding this transition and perhaps hoping to capitalise on youngsters’ proclivity towards everything technology, the government has invited developers and innovators to build and train a high-quality language model in Malayalam. The budget earmarked Rs 1 crore for the initiative.
“While global AI tools can support Malayalam to an extent, the quality and consistency required for Malayalam-first uses (learning, communication, content creation and digital services) remain uneven,” said Jyothis K S, co-founder of Zappyhire in Kochi.
A Malayalam-first model, Jyothis highlighted, does three things. “One, it safeguards our language, and by extension, our culture. Two, it empowers the modern Malayali to translate ideas using their mother tongue and not lose substance due to system’s shortcomings. Three, this digital leap, no doubt, will usher in a revolution in the language by expanding its acceptability and accessibility,” he explained.