Start-up uses tech to alter Indian voices

A SILICON Valley start-up has been converting Indian-accented voices using artificial intelligence to make them sound American, reports said.

The start-up Sanas has told the BBC that its technology could overcome accent-based prejudice and reduce racist abuse faced by staff.

But, the firm has been accused of ‘bias and racism' for using AI to make accents ‘sound whiter'. Critics said that it is a service in the wrong direction as language diversity should be celebrated.

According to the company, the accent-altering technology can lead to more polite interactions between callers and customer service representatives.

‘We don't want to say that accents are a problem because you have one. They're only a problem because they cause bias and they cause misunderstandings, ' Marty Sarim, Sanas president, said.

He claimed that the company's technology will bring millions of jobs to the Philippines,

India and other countries.

Sharath Keshava Narayana, a co-founder of Sanas, said that all four of the founders were immigrants and so were 90 per cent of the start-up's employees.

Narayana, a former call centre agent himself, said the tool had been inspired in part by the experience of a close friend of one of the founders. The company believes its technology can prevent abuse, he added. Sanas received $32m in funding since June 2022.