News site Stuff Group Te Puna is partnering with Straker and Microsoft to launch their AI technology pilot program to increase the number of te reo Māori articles.
Through their new technology partnership, Microsoft and Straker are combining human translation and artificial intelligence to help standardize te reo Māori across Stuff’s platforms, digital channels and publications.
Through this partnership, Microsoft and Straker will enable the translation of Stuff content at scale, which will then be followed by quality checks by translators and editors before publication.
“Bilingual articles are not new to Stuff, we have been producing them for years. But this is the first time we will use AI to translate even more articles at scale, the quality of which will be checked by a human translator and our editorial team before being published, says Pou Tiaki Matua Carmen Parahi ( Ngāti Hine, Rongowhakaata) from Stuff. .
Learn more: Stuff delivers New Zealand’s largest digital news audience – stoppress.co.nz
Since 2020, Stuff has published bilingual news articles and introduced it in its product titles, blogs, video and audio content.
Things have gone from producing one or two articles per week to one or two per day, but that’s tiny compared to the over a hundred pieces of English-language content published daily on their site.
However, the process was time-consuming and limited Stuff’s ability to translate live or breaking news.
“We have made it clear that we support the revitalization of te reo Māori, a taonga and official language of New Zealand,” Parahi says.
“Our journey began with the introduction of macrons on Māori words and continues with our ability to now expand our te reo Māori capability with AI.”
Learn more: Stuff invests in the future of grassroots journalism – stoppress.co.nz
In partnership with Straker and Microsoft, Stuff is developing a te reo Māori translation tool to amplify, promote and create more engaging bilingual content.
“Artificial intelligence is at the forefront of almost every organization’s discussion these days, but it’s not about how technology can do more than humans. It’s about how this technology can do more with humans, for humans and for the things that are important to us,” says Vanessa Sorenson, Managing Director of Microsoft Aotearoa New Zealand.
“We’re excited to work with two truly visionary local organizations to show how technology can be a real catalyst for Aotearoa’s society and culture. »
