The NUSCT calls for the inclusion of minority languages in AI applications
The NUSCT (Network of Universities of Small Countries and Territories), of which the University of Andorra (UdA) is a founding member, has issued a joint declaration expressing concern about the absence of minority languages in applications produced and marketed by tech companies employing artificial intelligence.
In the declaration, the NUSCT calls on international technology companies to include minority languages in the design and production of software based on artificial intelligence (AI). The call refers particularly to the languages spoken in countries and territories of the network’s members – Andorra, Gibraltar, Greenland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Montenegro, San Marino and Cyprus. The signatories are concerned that this neglect could further endanger the survival of minority languages and, consequently, the minority cultures of non-sovereign peoples. The NUSCT members also extend this appeal to their respective governments, multilateral organisations and university networks, such as the International Association of Universities (IAU) and the European University Association (EUA).
This initiative is one of the actions agreed at the last annual meeting of the NUSCT, which took place in Nuuk, Greenland, in early May this year. The network also renewed its call for an immediate end to the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army. In a new statement, the NUSCT once more expressed its concern about mounting civilian and military casualties, the destruction of cities and villages, the growing evidence of war crimes committed by the Russian armed forces, the expanding usurpation of Ukrainian territory, and the vanishing prospects for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Accordingly, the universities members of the NUSCT unanimously reiterated their condemnation of the invasion and called on world leaders and international organisations to increase efforts to bring this military aggression to an immediate halt and to work towards finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Date: 2 June 2022
