Karnataka's KITS partners with Voice AI company ElevenLabs to create a safety framework, help restore speech for those who have lost their voice, and use AI to make government services more accessible for citizens, including in the Kannada language.

The Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), functioning under the Department of Electronics, Information Technology and Biotechnology, Government of Karnataka, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global Voice AI company ElevenLabs Inc. to explore the possibilities of Voice AI for responsible AI use, citizen services and social good. The partnership will focus on three key areas: formulating a Voice AI safety framework, helping people who have lost their speech ability to restore their voice through AI-based voice restoration, and exploring possibilities of using Voice AI to make government services more easily accessible to citizens.

Karnataka's Vision for Responsible AI

Speaking about the partnership, Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said, "AI must ultimately be measured by the change it brings to people's lives. Voice AI offers an opportunity to make government more accessible and citizen-centric. But with it comes new responsibilities like safety, consent, trust and prevention of misuse." Through this partnership with ElevenLabs, Karnataka has the opportunity to work on both dimensions - to formulate strong safety measures to use Voice AI responsibly, as well as explore uses that provide solutions to real challenges faced by our citizens.

"The possibility of helping those who have lost their ability to speak to communicate again in their own voice is a most effective example of using technology for public good. Our objective is that innovations in Karnataka should not only be at the forefront of technology, but should be used responsibly in a way that delivers meaningful outcomes for people," he said.

ElevenLabs Co-founder and CEO Mati Staniszewski said, "We are proud that this is our first partnership with a state government in India. Voice is the most natural medium for people to interact with technology. By working with KITS, we are excited to explore how Voice AI can help make citizen services more accessible and restore voice to those who have lost it."

Formulating a Voice AI Safety Framework

In the backdrop of Voice AI rapidly gaining the ability to create highly realistic synthetic voices, the Government of Karnataka and ElevenLabs will work towards formulating a technology-agnostic Voice AI safety framework for the state. ElevenLabs will provide its expertise to Karnataka's Responsible AI framework, with a specific focus on risks related to voice and audio AI.

Under the partnership, several safety measures will be examined, including deepfake detection, audio provenance and watermarking, consent for voice cloning, restrictions on cloning voices of public figures, and protection from voice fraud and fake identity use. Measures to protect against unauthorised cloning of voices of public-facing government representatives and government agencies will also be explored. This is important as it is becoming more difficult to distinguish synthetic voices from real voices.

Knowledge sharing and capacity building programs will also be undertaken to increase awareness and preparedness among government officials and related institutions about new risks that may arise from Voice AI.

Restoring Voices for Public Good

A key public interest initiative of the partnership is to help people who have lost their ability to speak to communicate again through Voice AI. Under the MoU, ElevenLabs will provide free lifetime licenses under its 'One Million Voices' program to eligible citizens identified by the state government or institutions and organisations functioning under its guidance. Through this technology, eligible individuals can communicate using a synthetic form of their own voice, including in Kannada.

The initiative will help people who have lost their ability to speak due to mouth and throat cancer, ALS and other neurological or degenerative diseases. KITS is already in talks with AIISH - All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru - to explore implementation of this initiative and to identify eligible beneficiaries who can benefit from the free facility of ElevenLabs' voice technology.

This initiative is a significant step towards using AI technology directly in service of human dignity and inclusion. Voice technology will help those who have lost their ability to speak in their natural voice to communicate again and participate more actively in daily life.

Enhancing Citizen Services with Voice AI

The partnership will also explore how Voice AI can be used to improve the way citizens access government services and information. Potential uses include citizen helplines, grievance redressal, access to government information and various facilities, and voice-based interfaces in various languages spoken in Karnataka, including Kannada.

The state government and ElevenLabs will identify suitable use cases and undertake demo and pilot projects. During discussions with the Karnataka government, ElevenLabs showcased several possibilities of Voice AI use in citizen communication and public services. For Karnataka, which has a multilingual population and a strong technology ecosystem, voice interfaces offer a new opportunity to make digital government services more natural and accessible to all, including citizens who find it difficult to use traditional digital interfaces.

Implementation and Agreement Details

Specific use cases and pilot projects in these three areas will be identified in the next phase. Their scope, implementation method and pace will be decided by the state government.

The MoU is a voluntary and non-legally binding agreement and will not have any predetermined impact on any future procurement or tender decisions. Specific initiatives will be pursued through mutually agreed arrangements, subject to applicable approvals and laws. The MoU was signed Tuesday by Avinash Menon Rajendran, Managing Director, KITS, Department of Electronics, IT and BT, Government of Karnataka and Matiusz "Mati" Staniszewski, CEO, ElevenLabs Inc. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)