Barbara Plank: Building Language Technology for Everyone

Language is full of variation. So why are AI systems built as if it isn’t?

As a dialect speaker herself, MCML PI Barbara Plank has firsthand experience with language technologies that don’t support her own dialect. This has motivated her research to develop Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems that are accessible to everyone, regardless of how well-supported their language or dialect is. She describes the challenges posed by language ambiguity for NLP systems and the risk of developing monotone AI systems that threaten language variation.

In this video series, discover how MCML researchers are bridging theory and practice to build AI systems that prioritize accessibility, sovereignty, and impact.

The film was produced and edited by Nicole Huminski and Nikolai Huber.