Joan Cros | Nurphoto via Getty ImagesFrench telecoms giant Orange on Tuesday said it's partnering with Microsoft -backed OpenAI and Facebook-owner Meta to build custom artificial intelligence models designed to better understand regional African languages. Orange said it's working with OpenAI and Meta to develop custom AI models built on their respective Whisper and Llama open-source AI models — openly available systems that can be adapted to meet specific needs — that can understand West African languages not understood by most conversational systems. The open-source AI models will be provided externally by Orange with a free license for non-commercial uses including public health and education, the company said. Orange plans to expand its custom AI model initiative to eventually cover all 18 West African countries. In addition to using AI systems to improve customer service, Orange is also using the tech to improve a core part of its business: mobile networks.

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Persons: MSFT ORA, Joan Cros, it's, Meta, Orange, Steve Jarrett, Orange's, Jarrett, Claude aren't Organizations: Mobile, Nurphoto, Getty Images, Microsoft, Facebook, Meta, CNBC, West Locations: Barcelona, Spain, Orange, United States, Europe, East, Africa, Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania, West