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Google Releases Speech Recognition App Bolo To Help Kids Learn To Read in India; Intends To Bring It To Other Countries in Future (venturebeat.com)
Google today released a learning app for primary school children in India as part of an effort to cement its grip on the world's fastest-growing internet market. From a report: The Android app, called Bolo, aims to help young kids improve their reading comprehension and vocabulary skills in Hindi and English. Bolo (the Hindi word for "speak") features a range of games, and tasks, and it rewards kids as they progress.
Bolo, which is powered by Google's speech recognition and text-to-speech technology, first asks kids to read sentences. The app then listens to the efforts and reviews them, and an animated voice assistant -- called Diya -- suggests pronunciation and vocabulary corrections wherever applicable. The app comes preloaded with several stories -- Google says 90 stories in Hindi and English are available at launch. Children can engage with the app at a pace they are comfortable with, and their progress can be shared with their parents. [...] Google is releasing Bolo in India first, with plans to bring it to other countries in the future. The company said it will also add support for more languages soon.
Bolo, which is powered by Google's speech recognition and text-to-speech technology, first asks kids to read sentences. The app then listens to the efforts and reviews them, and an animated voice assistant -- called Diya -- suggests pronunciation and vocabulary corrections wherever applicable. The app comes preloaded with several stories -- Google says 90 stories in Hindi and English are available at launch. Children can engage with the app at a pace they are comfortable with, and their progress can be shared with their parents. [...] Google is releasing Bolo in India first, with plans to bring it to other countries in the future. The company said it will also add support for more languages soon.
Google is investing in improving the English speaking skills of their future indentured servants. Much altruism. Wow.
That is what the left hand is for. Hey, it's a good start when you're dirt poor.
It's the kind of lesson that only a few fail. Miss Mash comes to mind.
This should also be very useful for kids learning English as 2nd language. Can' wait to try it.
... and not one you'd want to associate with modern AI: Bolos are autonomous, self-aware tanks.
To a Lisp hacker, XML is S-expressions in drag.
Heck even adults could probably use an app that did this for English - my wife and I both read a lot, and I have to say there are several times we both knew words from reading, that either one or the other (or both) had been mispronouncing for years because I had never heard them spoken. Would be nice to have a quick check of advanced word pronunciations for adults, to help correct any errors that had crept in....
I think things like this are how the GIF pronunciation debate will finally be settled, we'll just have AI correct us all to use one definition until the other is forgotten.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Speech recognition is useful for many things. Foreign language learning, for example. Check your pronunciation without ever having a human teacher.
Some of the most literate children and well educated young adults I have ever known came from India. You sir are a jackass and should crawl back into your parents basement and stay there where you belong. No wonder the American economy is failing, with assholes like you electing bigoted morons as the president no wonder Google is investing in the future of other countries, investing in idiots like yourself is a waste of time and money.
That could use some help in learning Hindi. Heck, I hardly know a word of it!
Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
So, you like street shitting?
Yeah
How is this substantially different from Duolingo? That application improves reading, writing and spoken language comprehension and has speech recognition. It also teaches way more languages.
"well educated" in what? How to run stupid jungle hindustan like a shit hole? Fuck you.
Considering the number of people I hear every day, who are born in this country, who can't speak English in something approaching a comprehensible manner, Google might want to start at home first.
Time for the daily Study Strong Country to make revolutionary history.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
This is a great initiative to use AI for improving reading and writing. I am sure the app can be used by adults too. They are in fact a bigger potential target for something like this. Educating primary school kids will have a long term impact. Educating adults today will have a very quick, short term impact. The challenge is how to motivate adults to learn to read and write (and deal with the shame of it).
Bolo is a great breakout-style game on the Atari ST written by Meinolf Schneider.