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Cut through clutter: Tamil dataset to train AI models
Cut through clutter: Tamil dataset to train AI models

Time of India

time3 days ago

  • Science
  • Time of India

Cut through clutter: Tamil dataset to train AI models

Netizens engaging with AI models in Tamil or any regional language often come across incoherent translations, jumbled sentences, bizarre choices of words and poor grammar, but overlook them as the babels of a budding ecosystem. But not Raju Kandaswamy, a senior IT professional, who believes such errors throw a spanner in the works of Tamil's linguistic integrity. "Current training datasets are heavily distributed in English language and therefore do not accurately represent Tamil language or its cultural context. Users over a period of time absorb and internalise these biases leading to slow erosion of cultural values," he said. An increasing number of people, including senior citizens, rarely pick up books and consume Tamil content only through the internet or through speech. In a world increasingly mediated by LLMs, involved in web searches, shopping and education, this creates a problem. Kandaswamy is principal consultant at Thoughtworks in Coimbatore and part of AI Tamil Nadu, a non-profit community aiming to improve how AI models work in Tamil. The team is building a large-scale Tamil language dataset to train AI models, and is collaborating with authors and other organisations to curate large, high-quality datasets. Their plan is using these data repositories to fine-tune open-source models such as Meta's LLama and make it available for anyone to build Tamil-specific models. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai He believes that these models can be used to deliver govt services, communicate welfare schemes, and enable vernacular education to the masses, especially the rural population. Abinaya Mahendiran, a natural language processing expert and member of AI Tamil Nadu, is leading the initiative named Vidhai. She too thinks it is crucial for preserving Tamil culture. "Access to high-quality datasets in less represented languages is limited, and Tamil is no exception. Machine-translated content is often inaccurate. So, we collect original Tamil texts such as books, essays and articles from various sources, clean them, and annotate them with the help of volunteers, students, linguists, retirees, and teachers. A trove of Tamil books and printed material is yet to be digitised," she said. Today, many independent researchers and language enthusiasts are spending their own money to improve Tamil AI models. But as Abinaya notes, lack of computing resources and difficulty in mobilising volunteers are major barriers. The Tamil Virtual Academy (TVA) has a digital library of more than 1 lakh books containing around 1.5 crore pages, spanning subjects from science to history. It is also developing tools like syntactic parsers, morphological analysers, and 'parts of speech' taggers, resources critical for NLP research. Yet, fragmented efforts, siloed developments, and fuzzy copyright guidelines hinder collaboration. A senior official confirmed that TVA could collaborate with AI technologists, but ambiguity around copyright and fair use remains a bottleneck. Navaneeth Malingan, founder of AI Tamil Nadu, is attempting to bridge the ecosystem, by bringing together various elements -- from scouting for students volunteers and linguists to getting access to computing resources through corporate sponsorship. He says these kinds of models are crucial for delivery of govt services for locals, while commercial AI models will be useful for most business cases. "The govt can use it to fill forms through voice, give instructions to farmers and teach Tamil to the younger generation. Various stakeholders including govt and companies should be brought together to build these models suitable for the use cases," he asserted. The community is currently fine-tuning existing AI models to improve its performance in Tamil, but is ambitious about building one from scratch - albeit a small-domain focused model. It will use a tokenisation method inspired by Nannul, the 13th century Tamil grammar treatise, to better reflect the language's morphological structure instead of the currently widely used Byte-Pair Encoding (BPE) method. Tokenisation refers to the process of breaking down text into smaller units called tokens. From adopting the printing press in the 1500s (the first in India), to adopting Unicode for the internet, Tamil has consistently been an early adopter of new communication technologies. Now, it should be able to find its place in the AI age.

Favor Delivery and Thoughtworks Revolutionize the On-demand Shop & Deliver Experience
Favor Delivery and Thoughtworks Revolutionize the On-demand Shop & Deliver Experience

Business Wire

time17-06-2025

  • Business
  • Business Wire

Favor Delivery and Thoughtworks Revolutionize the On-demand Shop & Deliver Experience

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Thoughtworks, a global technology consultancy that integrates design, engineering and AI to drive digital innovation, today announced that Favor, the Texas-based on-demand delivery app owned by H-E-B, has launched a new 'Shop & Deliver' platform – an innovative B2B (business-to-business) service that expands capabilities to enrich the shopping experience for customers and delivery fulfillment. 'Together with Thoughtworks, we are excited to release this innovative platform to meet the growing demand for fast and convenient delivery service for both customers and Runners across Texas,' said Steve Romney, CTO, Favor Delivery. Share 'Together with Thoughtworks, we are excited to release this innovative platform to meet the growing demand for fast and convenient delivery service for both customers and Runners across Texas,' said Steve Romney, Chief Technology Officer, Favor Delivery. 'The new 'Shop and Deliver' service is part of our continued commitment to providing exceptional customer service, quality and convenience.' Favor's 'Shop & Deliver' offers features such as real-time inventory updates and streamlines data flow to manage simultaneous shopping and delivery tasks. The 'Shop and Deliver' platform provides a scalable technology, which increases Favor's capacity, flexibility and speed to serve a network of over 100,000 Runners (contract delivery drivers) and customers in more than 400 communities across Texas. "Favor Delivery's vision of delivering superior service and growth, sets them apart in the market. We're excited to partner on this initiative,' said Craig Stanley, Executive Vice President, Thoughtworks Americas. 'Leveraging our expertise in software engineering, Thoughtworks helped Favor co-create and scale a digital platform that delivers extraordinary customer experiences and measurable business impact.' Supporting resources: - ### - About Thoughtworks Thoughtworks is a global technology consultancy that integrates design, engineering and AI to drive digital innovation. We are over 10,000 people strong across 48 offices in 19 countries. For 30 years, we've delivered extraordinary impact together with our clients by helping them solve complex business problems with technology as the differentiator.

Thoughtworks Appoints Rav Hayer as Managing Director for UK & Ireland and Head of European Financial Services Practice
Thoughtworks Appoints Rav Hayer as Managing Director for UK & Ireland and Head of European Financial Services Practice

Yahoo

time27-05-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Thoughtworks Appoints Rav Hayer as Managing Director for UK & Ireland and Head of European Financial Services Practice

LONDON, May 27, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Thoughtworks, a global technology consultancy that integrates design, engineering and AI to drive digital innovation, announced the appointment of Rav Hayer to the dual role of Managing Director for UK & Ireland and Head of Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) for Europe. In this position, Rav is responsible for driving Thoughtworks' next phase of strategic growth in the UK and Ireland market while simultaneously expanding the firm's influence within the financial services sector across Europe. "Rav brings the precise blend of strategic leadership and deep financial services expertise required to accelerate our growth," said Kaushik Sarkar, Regional Managing Director for Europe, Middle East and India, Thoughtworks. "His proven track record in transforming organizations through technology and cultivating high-performing teams makes him the ideal leader for our UK and Ireland business and instrumental in elevating our European financial services practice." As the UK & Ireland Managing Director, Rav will focus on leading Thoughtworks' regional strategy, operations and market expansion. A key aspect will be enhancing client relationships by delivering high-impact technology solutions that empower our clients to navigate and capitalize on the incredible pace of change in technology. Additionally, he will cultivate the company's reputation as a leading employer for highly skilled technology professionals. In his role as Head of Europe BFSI, Rav will guide financial institutions through complex digital transformations, made even more critical by the adoption of AI, cloud and data, to lead through this era of unprecedented technological dynamism. "This is a pivotal time for both Thoughtworks and the financial services sector," said Rav Hayer, Managing Director of UK & Ireland and European Head of BFSI, Thoughtworks. "The UK and Ireland market holds immense potential for technology-driven transformation, while financial institutions across Europe are actively reshaping their digital futures. I am thrilled to lead our exceptional teams in delivering innovative and impactful solutions for our clients." Rav joins Thoughtworks from Alvarez & Marsal, where he most recently served as Managing Director. In this role, he led complex digital transformation programs for financial services clients across Europe. He is a qualified accountant with an MBA and over 25 years of experience in financial services technology, business strategy and large-scale transformations. He is also recognized as a dedicated people leader and passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion. Supporting resources: Keep up with Thoughtworks news by visiting the company's website. Follow us on X, LinkedIn and YouTube. - ### - About Thoughtworks Thoughtworks is a global technology consultancy that integrates design, engineering and AI to drive digital innovation. We are over 10,000 people strong across 48 offices in 19 countries. For 30+ years, we've delivered extraordinary impact together with our clients by helping them solve complex business problems with technology as the differentiator. View source version on Contacts Media contact: Kathrin Jansing, Head of public relations, Thoughtworks EuropeEmail: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Thoughtworks Appoints Rav Hayer as Managing Director for UK & Ireland and Head of European Financial Services Practice
Thoughtworks Appoints Rav Hayer as Managing Director for UK & Ireland and Head of European Financial Services Practice

Business Wire

time27-05-2025

  • Business
  • Business Wire

Thoughtworks Appoints Rav Hayer as Managing Director for UK & Ireland and Head of European Financial Services Practice

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Thoughtworks, a global technology consultancy that integrates design, engineering and AI to drive digital innovation, announced the appointment of Rav Hayer to the dual role of Managing Director for UK & Ireland and Head of Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) for Europe. In this position, Rav is responsible for driving Thoughtworks' next phase of strategic growth in the UK and Ireland market while simultaneously expanding the firm's influence within the financial services sector across Europe. "Rav brings the precise blend of strategic leadership and deep financial services expertise required to accelerate our growth," said Kaushik Sarkar, Regional Managing Director for Europe, Middle East and India, Thoughtworks. "His proven track record in transforming organizations through technology and cultivating high-performing teams makes him the ideal leader for our UK and Ireland business and instrumental in elevating our European financial services practice." As the UK & Ireland Managing Director, Rav will focus on leading Thoughtworks' regional strategy, operations and market expansion. A key aspect will be enhancing client relationships by delivering high-impact technology solutions that empower our clients to navigate and capitalize on the incredible pace of change in technology. Additionally, he will cultivate the company's reputation as a leading employer for highly skilled technology professionals. In his role as Head of Europe BFSI, Rav will guide financial institutions through complex digital transformations, made even more critical by the adoption of AI, cloud and data, to lead through this era of unprecedented technological dynamism. "This is a pivotal time for both Thoughtworks and the financial services sector," said Rav Hayer, Managing Director of UK & Ireland and European Head of BFSI, Thoughtworks. "The UK and Ireland market holds immense potential for technology-driven transformation, while financial institutions across Europe are actively reshaping their digital futures. I am thrilled to lead our exceptional teams in delivering innovative and impactful solutions for our clients." Rav joins Thoughtworks from Alvarez & Marsal, where he most recently served as Managing Director. In this role, he led complex digital transformation programs for financial services clients across Europe. He is a qualified accountant with an MBA and over 25 years of experience in financial services technology, business strategy and large-scale transformations. He is also recognized as a dedicated people leader and passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion. - ### - About Thoughtworks Thoughtworks is a global technology consultancy that integrates design, engineering and AI to drive digital innovation. We are over 10,000 people strong across 48 offices in 19 countries. For 30+ years, we've delivered extraordinary impact together with our clients by helping them solve complex business problems with technology as the differentiator.

Simon & Schuster Teams with Thoughtworks to Revolutionize Language Learning for Greater Innovation and Business Alignment
Simon & Schuster Teams with Thoughtworks to Revolutionize Language Learning for Greater Innovation and Business Alignment

Business Wire

time22-05-2025

  • Business
  • Business Wire

Simon & Schuster Teams with Thoughtworks to Revolutionize Language Learning for Greater Innovation and Business Alignment

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Thoughtworks, a global technology consultancy that integrates design, engineering and AI to drive digital innovation, today announced a significant advance in its long term collaboration with Simon & Schuster, a globally recognized publishing leader. Together the companies have future-proofed the digital capabilities of Simon & Schuster's rapidly expanding Pimsleur Language Program to further enhance the learning experience for its global language learners. 'By continuously iterating to optimize performance and user experience, Thoughtworks helped us achieve significant growth in user volume and revenue,' said Tom McLean, SVP Pimsleur Language Programs. Since the partnership's inception in 2017, Thoughtworks and Simon & Schuster have strategically co-created a series of transformative digital enhancements across the Pimsleur digital experience. This includes the relaunch of even more intuitive mobile and web apps with improved accessibility and engagement features, alongside a scalable backend system for streamlined customer management, learning progress tracking, B2B sales and seamless platform integrations. Building on this robust foundation on AWS, AI-powered innovations like Voice Coach for pronunciation and engaging Mini Lessons have powerfully augmented the language-learning journey. 'By continuously iterating to optimize performance and user experience, Thoughtworks helped us achieve significant growth in user volume and revenue,' said Tom McLean, SVP Pimsleur Language Programs. 'For more than 50 years, Pimsleur Language Programs has remained true to the Pimsleur Method that has helped millions of people learn to speak a new language while also continuing to leverage digital platforms and innovative subscription models to meet the needs of modern learners,' said Craig Stanley, Executive Vice President, Thoughtworks Americas. 'We're excited to be partnering with Simon & Schuster as it continuously enhances, elevates and augments the value of its digital assets, such as the Pimsleur Mobile app, to drive tangible results while improving operational cost and efficiencies.' More recently, the integration of advanced Thoughtworks Digital Application Management and Operations (DAMO™) Services has begun to streamline processes and is showing early signs of enhanced collaboration between maintenance and delivery teams supporting the Pimsleur platform. This has initially resulted in seamless performance and efficient product updates, even as functionality and the Pimsleur user base continues to grow. These optimizations help ensure users receive faster, more accurate responses, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and engagement. Supporting resources: - ### - About Thoughtworks Thoughtworks is a global technology consultancy that integrates design, engineering and AI to drive digital innovation. We are over 10,000 Thoughtworkers strong across 48 offices in 19 countries. For 30+ years, we've delivered extraordinary impact together with our clients by helping them solve complex business problems with technology as the differentiator.

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