Baku and Barcelona, May 15, 2024: VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), a global digital operator of integrated connectivity and online services, is a leading global digital operator of Beeline Kazakhstan, GSMA, and Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputacion (BSC). -CNS) will explore cooperation on the development of artificial intelligence and language technologies for languages with fewer digital resources.
The parties will explore opportunities for cooperation, with a focus on developing mechanisms and documentation on language models and AI systems for under-resourced languages, including local languages in the countries where VEON operates. It turns out.
This MoU was signed by four parties during M360 Eurasia. The event, which kicks off today in Baku, will feature global connectivity leaders and policymakers for two days of discussion, debate and networking.
Of the approximately 7,000 languages spoken around the world, only seven are considered high-resource languages in the digital world: English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, Arabic, German, and Japanese. is. Lack of resources in other languages creates an AI language gap, risks suboptimal user experiences in AI applications, deepens bias in AI models, and deepens the digital divide in AI technologies.
Catalan is spoken by 10 million people across Spain and other parts of Europe, including Andorra and Alghero. For this reason, the BSC Language Technology Department prioritizes the production of digital resources that guarantee the presence of Catalan in the digital world, while at the same time making these resources available to other languages with the same purpose.
Operating in countries where 7% of the world's population resides and most speak resource-poor languages, VEON is expanding its AI capabilities, starting with Kazakhstan, where Beeline Kazakhstan's IT subsidiary is based. We are committed to addressing the AI language gap by supporting the use of low-resource languages. QazCode has already launched his Kaz-RoBERTA-conversational, a Kazakh AI module that supports customer service in Beeline Kazakhstan's digital applications.
“Artificial intelligence is the next game changer in the history of technology, and it is up to us to design and develop it in ways that promote inclusion for all people. Bringing low-resource languages to the world of AI We are working with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and the GSMA to address the current shortcomings of the AI environment and empower hundreds of millions of people around the world. We are pleased to be the first group of operators to partner together to explore opportunities to address this challenge.” Khan Terzioglu, CEO of VEON Group, said:
“Beeline Kazakhstan is a leading operator of AI technologies in the markets in which VEON operates. Having previously developed AI-based solutions in the Kazakh language, Beeline Kazakhstan and Qazcode are committed to bringing Kazakhstan into the AI era. We are very aware of the challenges and opportunities that come with transformation and are very excited to partner with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and the GSMA to bring international experience to the journey of developing new use cases for Kazakh AI applications. I am excited.” Evgeny Nastradin, CEO of Beeline Kazakhstan, said:
“Developments in artificial intelligence also create gaps between languages. It is important to close them. That is why we are making knowledge and resources available. Our work through the Aina Alliance continues to grow. This is another step in making our open source AI expertise available to the international community through the Aina project. datasets and open source models, leading the way in the availability of open source AI resources.”said BSC-CNS Director Mateo Valero Cortés.
“VEON’s project with Beeline Kazakhstan is the first in an exciting journey with BSC. We are now encouraging industry to reduce disparities in the development and application of AI technologies across different languages. This divide exacerbates the AI language gap and associated challenges such as siled innovation and a widening digital divide. As the world moves towards an increasingly AI-driven future, we aim to ensure that language is not left behind.” Alex Sinclair, GSMA Chief Technology Officer, said:
Key to this partnership is the GSMA Foundry Innovation Accelerator. It is an initiative that brings together mobile carriers and the broader technology industry to help our members build their digital future by rapidly developing real-world solutions to industry challenges.
The cooperation will take place within the Aina Alliance, a cooperation between the Government of Catalonia and the GSMA. It is based on the Aina project promoted and funded by the Catalan government and aims to support the presence of non-world languages in Catalonia. Artificial intelligence models will enable speakers of any language to fully participate in the evolution of the digital world. VEON is the first pilot of this partnership, and the Aina Alliance is now inviting other mobile carrier partners and organizations to join in addressing the AI language gap through collaborative efforts. .
About Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputing
Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Supercomputing Central Center (BSC-CNS) is Spain's national supercomputing center. They specialize in high performance computing (HPC) and manage one of Europe's most powerful supercomputers, Mare Nostrum. BSC serves the international scientific community and industries requiring HPC resources. BSC's multidisciplinary research team and our computational facilities, including MareNostrum, make BSC an international center of excellence in e-science.
BSC has been successful in attracting talent and its research focuses on four areas: computer science, life sciences, earth sciences, and computer applications in science and engineering. The research line is being developed within the framework of European Union research funding programs, Spanish and Catalan public research calls, and collaborations with leading companies.
About GSMA
GSMA is a global organization that unites the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovations that are fundamental to positive business environments and social change. Our vision is to unleash the power of connectivity to help people, industries and societies thrive. Representing mobile operators and organizations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, GSMA offers its members his three big pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This work includes advancing policy, addressing today's biggest societal challenges, building the technology and interoperability foundations that enable mobile capabilities, and convening the mobile ecosystem at his MWC and M360 series of events. Includes the world's largest platform offering.
For more information, please visit www.gsma.com.
About Beeline Kazakhstan and QazCode
Beeline Kazakhstan is a leading company in Kazakhstan's telecommunications industry, serving more than 11 million consumers in mobile and fixed networks and providing digital services in finance, entertainment and enterprise solutions such as Simply, izi, hitter and BeeTV. We offer The company's software company QazCode is one of the largest software development companies in Kazakhstan with its 700-strong team, including 350 developers. QazCode takes an AI-first approach to building solutions for communications process automation, gamification, entertainment, IT productivity, and more.
About VEON
VEON is a digital operator that provides integrated connectivity and digital services to approximately 160 million customers. With operations in six countries (Pakistan, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan), where more than 7% of the world's population lives, VEON empowers individuals and fosters economic growth through technology-driven services. It's transforming lives. Headquartered in Amsterdam, VEON is listed on NASDAQ and Euronext.
For more information, please visit www.veon.com.
Disclaimer
This release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts and include, among other things, statements regarding his VEON strategy, investment and partnership plans. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties, many of which cannot be accurately predicted by VEON, and some of which VEON may not anticipate. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date of this release. VEON will publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by U.S. federal securities laws. I make no promises.
contact
Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputing
BSC communication
communication@bsc.es
GSMA
GSMA Press Office
pressoffice@gsma.com
Beeline Kazakhstan
Elena Mukshinova
Head of Communications
ymukhsinova@beeline.kz
Veon
Handicap Asik
Group Director of Communications
pr@veon.com
