Consuming and discovering Francophone content online: languages, cultures, and inclusion in the era of AI

With the rise of generative AI, which is mainly trained on English-language data and content, the trend toward linguistic uniformity in the global digital ecosystem is growing, raising concerns about the recognition of diverse original cultural works and their creators. Multilingual and inclusive AI models must reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity of the French-speaking world in the digital environment (while recognizing that French is not the only language of the Francophonie). This conference will highlight technological and collaborative approaches that enable AI to understand and process the languages of the French-speaking world, from French to Creole, Wolof, and Lingala, while examining the biases and challenges associated with the role that algorithms and recommendation systems play in accessing, promotion, and discoverability of the rich linguistic diversity of cultural content in French-speaking countries and territories.