India’s AI Push: Microsoft launches 'Jugalbandi', AI-based multilingual chatbot for rural India
The Jugalbandi chatbot uses a completely indigenous AI model developed by IIT Madras' AI4Bharat. The chatbot was launched with the aim to help farmers and people in rural India to access information about farming and government schemes on their phones.
The Jugalbandi chatbot uses a completely indigenous AI model developed by IIT Madras' AI4Bharat. The chatbot was launched with the aim to help farmers and people in rural India to access information about farming and government schemes on their phones.
On Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled Jugalbandi, a multilingual chatbot powered by generative AI, which can be accessed through the popular messaging platform WhatsApp. The chatbot has been specifically designed to serve rural areas in India that have limited media access and lack information about government welfare activities.
During his keynote address, Satya Nadella mentioned that he tested the chatbot during a recent visit to India and realized its potential to make a positive impact on billions of people in a short span of time. He emphasized the importance of protecting fundamental rights while enabling widespread diffusion of beneficial technology.
Developed in collaboration with AI4Bharat and IIT Madras, Jugalbandi aims to provide personalized assistance by understanding user queries in multiple languages, whether spoken or typed. The chatbot retrieves information from relevant programs, which are often available only in English, and presents it back to users in their local language.
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Jugalbandi combines AI models from AI4Bharat and Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, enabling seamless conversations between users and the chatbot. These generative AI tools can synthesize vast amounts of data to generate text and other content. Microsoft ensures data security through Azure OpenAI Service while leveraging the Indian government’s databases to offer a reliable and responsible platform for users.
The chatbot was launched in April and has undergone testing in Biwan, a village near New Delhi, India’s capital city.
In a blog post, Microsoft explains:
“A villager sends a text or audio message to a WhatsApp number, which initiates the Jugalbandi bot. That is transcribed to text using the AI4Bharat speech recognition model. That, in turn, is translated to English by the Bhashini translation model trained by AI4Bharat. Based on the prompt, Azure OpenAI Service’s model retrieves information on the relevant government scheme. The answer is translated to Hindi. That is then synthesized with the AI4Bharat text-to-speech model and sent back to WhatsApp – and the villager’s ear.”
AI4Bharat, an open-source language AI centre developed at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, has collaborated with Microsoft to develop Jugalbandi. The aim of the collaboration is to break language barriers and provide technology-driven solutions through a government initiative called Bhashini.
Microsoft acknowledges that AI-powered chatbots like Jugalbandi may have some imperfections initially and highlights the importance of user participation in training the model. Partnerships with local entities are also crucial to ensure reliable responses in local languages.
Once the chatbot is refined, users will be able to easily understand and enroll in basic government schemes without any hassle. Microsoft has chosen WhatsApp as the messaging platform due to its widespread popularity in India.
In India, numerous government schemes and welfare programs exist, each with its own criteria and requirements. Official websites can be difficult to navigate, especially for those who are unable to read, write, or understand English. By providing precise answers early on, Jugalbandi aims to reduce the need for multiple visits to government service centres and minimize the inconvenience of retrieving missing documents.
Since its introduction in early April 2022 in the village of Biwan, Jugalbandi has expanded its coverage to ten of India’s 22 official languages and approximately 171 out of a total of around 20,000 government programs. In addition to AI4Bharat, AI startup OpenNyAI, which focuses on helping users understand the legal jargon, is also involved in the development of the chatbot.
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