The potential of Artificial intelligence (AI) to decrease the digital divide is significant. AI can improve access to information, enable personalized learning, promote digital inclusion, create job opportunities, address social equity issues, and optimize digital infrastructure. However, ensuring that AI is developed and deployed responsibly, ethically, and inclusively is crucial, with a focus on promoting equitable access to AI technologies and their benefits for all communities, including those currently underserved. 

In an era where AI reshapes the landscape, Indian villages also witness the change. But what is the role played by the Indian villages in the development of AI

Recently, in an interview, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shared insights into how residents in Indian villages are contributing to the development of AI tools. 

Nadella mentioned a social impact organization in Kharadi, Maharashtra, where individuals contribute their voices to Microsoft to train AI models in the Marathi language.

In a statement, Nadella said, "In India, if you don't speak Hindi or English, it can be difficult to access technology that helps people thrive—apps, tools, and digital assistants that English and Hindi speakers take for granted. Hundreds of millions of potential customers could benefit from those technologies, so Microsoft and others are in a race to make their products available in those 'under-resourced' languages.

Rural India revolutionizing AI

Numerous organizations are functioning in the rural India, playing a significant role in eradicating the digital divide.

Karya is startup that creates datasets in several Indian languages to train AI models and for research while creating jobs for Indians, mainly in rural areas. Karya got its start as a Microsoft Research project in Bengaluru in 2017. Over time, it became clear that Karya had enormous potential as a creator of high-quality language datasets in India's many languages and as a way to help lift rural Indians out of poverty with education and income. The project was spun off in 2021 as an organization independent of Microsoft. Its entire operation, including the app that workers use to record and write in their native languages, is built on Microsoft Azure and uses Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Cognitive Services to validate its data. Microsoft is one of its major clients. 

Karya's founders have ambitious goals. It is partnering with more than 200 other nonprofits with the goal of reaching 100 million people by 2030. It hopes that data will serve as the basis for tools that will later serve these same people in their own languages. Karya is attempting to gather and process the datasets in ways that mitigate bias based on gender and other factors. It's one of the reasons Karya is reaching out to diverse groups of people to build more inclusive data. 

NIRMAI is another organization innovating rural healthcare in rural India. It is an innovative health-tech Indian company that has developed the world-renowned radiation-free, automated, and non-invasive breast cancer screening test. NIRAMAI, a deep-tech company from Bangalore, was founded in July 2016 and has raised a total of $7M from institutional investors from India, Japan, and Singapore. 

Dr. Geetha Manjunath, CEO and founder of Niramai, said, "It is extremely crucial to encourage more and more women to get screened every year to enable early-stage detection and early treatment intervention, which not only saves lives but also reduces treatment costs. Early-stage detection allows people to return to normal life very soon."

Youcode is another organisation that empowers students' tech skills in small towns and villages. They collaborate with schools and non-governmental organizations to conduct workshops for students of various ages. By 2020, they had envisioned over 9000 rural students with the basics of AI and other emerging technologies. Over the years, the organization has built good relationships with the teachers of government schools who were their point of contact in finding students interested in AI. Currently, they are functioning from Chennai. Over the years, they have built AI powered violence detection system for women safety.

Bridging the Digital Divide

Indian villagers' contribution to AI development is a testament to the power of inclusive technology. In a way, they are advocating the Gandhian ideology of self-reliance and contributing to the development of high-quality datasets.

The impact of AI in rural India is profound, with the potential to transform everyday life in ways previously unimaginable. Moving forward, the role played by Indian villagers in AI development is set to become increasingly significant. With innovations in every sector, rural India is poised to be at the forefront of AI development. The tale of Indian villagers contributing to AI development is a powerful reminder of the untapped potential residing in the most unexpected places.