• Helps facilitate creative thinking
• Enables students grasp foreign language knowledge faster
• Can help to improve service industry

linguaGPT is a new platform that enables users to access the fast evolving world of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven services via a range of languages. It helps remove obstacles for Sri Lankans and others who are often challenged by language barriers in seeking assistance and trying to use a range of services. The website enables users to communicate with the ChatGPT AI using as many as 100 different languages. linguaGPT, which is a web-based platform that is only eight weeks old, has been in the spotlight both internationally and locally.

According to linguaGPT CEO Sisilal de Silva, the platform can give Sri Lankans and others the ability to further their knowledge, learn specialised subjects, obtain new services, and respond to questions in a way which was impossible several years ago. linguaGPT can be beneficial to Sri Lankan students who study in foreign languages, including English, and to those in the services and tourism sector, helping them to communicate more effectively and helping them with their research, de Silva said.

In an interview with The Sunday Morning, the young AI entrepreneur said that linguaGPT helped facilitate creative thinking and could also aid in training Sri Lankan labour for overseas markets, as well as improve service sector and tourism.

Following are experts from the interview:

What is linguaGPT and how does it work?

Our website, linguaGPT, is powered by OpenAI and lets our users communicate with AI in their mother language or a language that they prefer.

AI is basically a computerised brain which has been taught to learn. It has its own                       thinking power and can do most of the cognizant fractions that a human can do.

Through linguaGPT, we allow the user to communicate with the AI using up to a 100 different languages. We have not prioritised any particular set of languages; they were selected based on the requests the website received. For the convenience of users, we have customised the webpage to have six key language interfaces based on the volume of demand we receive. We have received the most requests from six languages: German, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Dutch, Sinhala, and Tamil.

What got you started down the AI path? What inspired you to create linguaGPT?

When the hype about AI and especially ChatGPT arose, I was very interested in the platform and what it offered. A few friends of mine and I were also trying to find a way to help many foreign students who were studying overseas. We observed that many students in the UK were using ChatGPT to help with their studies. 

So, we thought if we can build a new platform, it will help students in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in their studies. Many Sri Lankan students are not well-versed in English – they are more comfortable with Sinhala and Tamil, so this platform can help them.

Our platform will enable students to ask a question in their language and get answers in another language or get an answer in a language they desire.

In your opinion, what other sectors can linguaGPT impact?

We know of some groups in the apparel sector that use the platform to discuss their designs and proposals with their clients. The possibilities are endless; there are people I know who use linguaGPT to draft their communications and reports. What linguaGPT does best is being a facilitator to inspire creative thinking.   

We have also enabled linguaGPT with the options of computer programming and mathematics functions, so that even those who are new to programming can interact with the AI and learn. 

This platform can be of use to a range of service sectors, even the tourism sector. For example, if a Russian tourist who is travelling to Anuradhapura is on linguaGPT, they can ask the AI about the historical significance of the monuments and places they were visiting and they can get an accurate, fact-based answer in their language from the platform. 

I feel we can diversify the use of linguaGPT to many sectors – the possibilities are endless.

Do you think linguaGPT can play a role in improving Sri Lanka’s service sector as we move towards economic recovery?

Yes, with some of the updates we are planning for the platform, I think so. We can ‘feed’ customised information to the AI for it to become more knowledgeable in certain areas. So, it may be of tremendous help to tourism and to foreigners to access services while in Sri Lanka.

The system can also help ease and streamline many of the public services, which can be provided online as well. This can reduce overheads and delays, improving efficiency and providing better service. 

Another example is in logistics and package delivery. We can train the AI model to know the procedures to follow when a container or package arrives from a foreign country, and let the AI take the initial decision and let the staff check on the next steps to follow and so on. 

Many human interactions, which are time-consuming, can be handled by the AI system. Ultimately, if a solution is not found, the system can also revert back to seeking directions from the humans involved in the operation. linguaGPT will help streamline processes.

Sri Lanka is trying to change its labour market by sending more skilled employees overseas. Can an AI-driven system like linguaGPT help with such a move?

Yes, for example, if we are sending employees to work in an overseas company that services certain airlines, linguaGPT can help the prospective employees be trained in the right procedure to use and help them get to know about the compliance and the airline. Such training can then be done remotely, in Sri Lanka, requiring less expenditure and less time spent overseas for training. 

A Sri Lankan employee can first learn about the company, the procedure, standards and SOPs in Sinhala or Tamil, before learning about it in English or whichever language they need to work in, on-site overseas. I think learning in your mother tongue will help many grasp the key knowledge they need and will help them learn the meaning of specific terms in foreign languages as well. 

It can also be used as a learning and research tool for locals before they venture out for foreign employment.

What are your plans for linguaGPT?

What we do with linguaGPT may look simple, but the programming and the development of each functionality take a lot of work and effort. We are developing new tools and functions for the website. We are pushing our mathematical functions and the computer coding functions at present. We are also in discussions with the UAE on how we can collaborate with them and leverage the linguaGPT AI platform for their needs.