Microsoft brings Multilingual Jugalbandi AI Chatbot for Rural India

Microsoft has introduced a new WhatsApp chatbot called Jugalbandi, specially designed for farmers and others living in rural India. Unlike other chatbots, Microsoft notes that the Jugalbandi bot leverages ChatGPT-like generative AI technology to help users get better answers beyond India's 22 officially recognized languages. The WhatsApp chatbot is still in the early stages of development, although the company hopes that one day it can offer all Indians "easy access to information in the local language through a mobile phone" instead of having to go to the local community service centre and wait in long queues. The bot currently supports limited Indian languages but is training with new languages through multiple collaborations.

Jugalbandi was featured at Microsoft's Build 2023 event last night, where the company unveiled new AI-powered tools. Jugalbandi uses GPT models through the Azure OpenAI service. Jugalbandi refers to a duet between two Indian classical music musicians in which they laugh at each other to create something new together. RuralThe process remains the same as using Jugalbandi, as with any other chatbot on WhatsApp, that is, sending "hello" to a specific number. In a blog post, Microsoft explains:

"A villager sends a text or audio message to a WhatsApp number, which initiates the Jugalbandi bot. That is transcribed to text using the AI4Bharat speech recognition model. That, in turn, is translated to English by the Bhashini translation model trained by AI4Bharat. Based on the prompt, Azure OpenAI Service's model retrieves information on the relevant government scheme. The answer is translated into Hindi. That is then synthesized with the AI4Bharat text-to-speech model and sent back to WhatsApp – and the villager's ear."

AI4Bharat is an open-source language artificial intelligence centre at the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras. Bhashini is a government initiative that wants to break language barriers among users with technology. Microsoft notes that AI-powered chatbots like Jugalbandi have "rough edges", and the only way to train the model is by engaging users. Partnerships with local stakeholders are also crucial for reliable responses in local languages.

However, once improved, users will be able to understand and enrol in basic government schemes without any issues. Microsoft says that the company uses WhatsApp, which is very popular in the country. The publication notes: "India has myriad government schemes and welfare programs, each with its own criteria and requirements. Official websites can be hard to navigate – or impossible if you can't read or write or don’t know English. Getting precise answers early means fewer trips to the government service centres in each village for help and fewer trips home to retrieve missing documents."

Jugalbandi was introduced to Biwan villagers in early April 2022, and till now, the chatbot covers 10 out of 22 official languages of India and 171 out of about 20,000 government programs. In addition to AI4Bharat, the artificial intelligence startup OpenNyAI, which aims to help users understand legalese, is also working on the chatbot.

Microsoft notes that the Jugalbandi bot helped an 18-year-old Biwan resident, Vandna, find government scholarships for Political Science, Hindi, and History. The chatbot responded with a list of central and state government programs. Vandna chose one and asked about the eligibility criteria. Jugalbandi provided them and told her what documents she needed to support the application.