At an event organized by Viamo and attended by players in the private sector, public sector and International NGOs, Viamo launched the world’s first voice-based Gen AI; Ask Viamo Anything (AVA) in Ghana.
Attendees came from organisations such as UNICEF, GIZ, Solidaridad, Delloite, JHPIEGO, Dentsu, Publicis, Innovation Spark and the Ghana Health Service.
The keynote speaker for the event, Charles Abani, the Resident Coordinator for the UN in Ghana, lauded the first Offline Voice Gen AI service and urged more collaboration amongst innovators, the private sector and the public sector to make ICT tools accessible at scale, especially to the most marginalized and vulnerable in society.
Technology, he said is the catalyst for improving lives and achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including Good health and well-being, quality education and gender equality.
Dr Nii Lante Heward-Mills, the Country Director for Viamo in Ghana and Liberia mentioned that the transformative technology; “Combining AI and mobile will bring the next people billion online. and reduce the digital divide markedly.’’ This AVA service will make the internet and AI technology available to Ghanaians regardless of phone type or internet connectivity.
Currently, under pilot in Zambia, Nigeria and available in Ghana, the project is being rolled out next in Pakistan, India, and Tanzania. Viamo plans to roll out the World’s first Offline Generative AI in all of Viamo’s 25 markets/country offices.
In Zambia, some of the questions asked blend aspects of the artificial intelligence behind ChatGPT, Alexa and Siri with targeted health, education, agriculture and other expertise from Viamo’s partners in the development and commercial sector such as UNICEF and Unilever respectively:
How can I plant beans?
What is a democracy?
Why am I so emotional that sometimes I even feel lonely or unwanted?
What business can a 12-year-old do in Zambia in the winter?
Why doesn’t it snow in Zambia?
By bringing the latest iteration of AI to some of the world’s poorest and most remote communities, ‘Ask Viamo Anything’ heralds the fastest democratisation of technology to date.
The user experience even leapfrogs what is available in advanced economies. While most ChatGPT users type their requests into a small box – a barrier for many in communities with low literacy rates – Viamo converts voice to text and back to voice in real time. The quality is enhanced by bespoke information that is geographically specific and therefore more relevant to users, in addition to regular open access information available on the Internet. In Zambia, Viamo references lists of family planning clinics, for example, and localized, approved agricultural advice.
About Viamo
Founded in 2012 in Ghana, Viamo is a global social enterprise with a presence in 25 emerging markets. We believe everyone deserves access to information to be able to make well-informed decisions, large and small.
Nearly 3 billion of us remain unconnected, hard to reach by traditional media or even the Internet. This means too many people don’t get the information that helps us reach our full potential, don’t get our voices heard, or our markets and economies developed. Viamo has found a way to change this. We give people access to information to improve businesses, governance, health and education. And we do it in the way that suits our users best: through voice, on their simple mobile phones, at the moment of their choosing, in their own language.
