The rapid development of artificial intelligence is leaving low- and middle-income countries behind, due in large part to the lack of digitization of the vast majority of the world’s languages.
While there are over 7,000 languages spoken globally, AI models, and particularly large language models, or LLMs, are predominantly trained on just two languages — English and Mandarin.
This disparity creates a new kind of digital divide, which is not about infrastructure or the internet, but rather a data divide.
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About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.
