ASR

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) tailored for African languages and speech diversity reaches Uganda.

The Centre for Digital Language Inclusion (CDLI) has finalised its initiative to develop inclusive Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) models for people living with non-standard or impaired speech in African languages in Uganda. This effort aims to close the digital divide for people with speech impairments and marks a significant milestone, building on successful pilots in Ghana and Kenya.

Building Voice Technology That Works: CDLI ASR Devices Makerthon

Over four days, twenty makers and four users with speech impairments worked together as co-designers not as separate groups of builders and testers. The result was assistive technology shaped by the people who actually need it.

Inclusive Voices: Advancing Language Technology for People with Impaired Speech in Local Languages

In April 2025, the CDLI (Centre for Digital Language exclusion) team attended CHI 2025 - the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems held in Yokohama, Japan. They took part in a workshop on the theme of "Speech AI for All: Promoting Accessibility, Fairness, Inclusivity, and Equity" and made a poster presentation on “Inclusive Voices: Advancing Language Technology for People with Impaired Speech in Local Languages”, which addressed the question of how to promote accessibility, fairness, inclusivity and equity through the use of language technology in local languages for people with impaired speech.

Enhancing Communication Equity: Evaluation of an Automated Speech Recognition Application in Ghana

In Ghana people who struggle to articulate speech as a result of different conditions experience barriers in interacting with others due to difficulties in being understood. Automatic speech recognition software can be used to help listeners understand people with communication difficulties. However, studies have not looked at the practical feasibility of these technologies beyond the Global North. We present a novel user study examining the introduction of one such technology, Google Project Relate, to Ghana. This freely available mobile application can create personalised speech recognition models in English for non-standard speech to support communication. Our user study spans the training of local speech and language therapists and 20 people with communication difficulties. We utilise the Technology Amplification Theory to contribute insights on the need for technological adaptations, awareness and support to reduce differential gaps of access, capacity and motivation to expand the reach of these technologies rather than exacerbating inequalities.

Empower Conference: Automatic Speech Recognition & Voice Cloning

This workshop will demonstrate ElevenLabs technology end to end

Inclusive Speech Kenya

Accra, Ghana: Using the newly built Akan and Ga ASR models, CDLI and GDI Hub host an inclusive innovation hackathon open to university students across Ghana. From over 150 applicants, 16 teams from across the country progressed to the ideation sprint, mentored by CDLI and University of Ghana and five group finalists presented live to an audience of more than 400 in Accra, including representatives from government, academic institutions and innovators. All teams were provided mentoring to build and demonstrate prototype apps using AI and the language models we had provided. Each team included a person living with speech impairment. Each team utilized local knowledge, skills, experiences and ideas to build solutions for Ghanaians, by Ghanaians. The event, funded by CDLI Hub’s AT2030 programme, demonstrates how local talent can leverage CDLI’s open-source tools for real-world solutions, given the opportunity.

Establishing the Centre

UCL’s GDI Hub launches the Centre for Digital Language Inclusion with support from Google.org, focusing initially on Africa. Partnerships are formulated with the University of Ghana, Talking Tipps Africa and local NGOs to kick-start data collection in Ghana.