The Moroccan government has taken a significant step towards digital transformation by launching the first components of artificial intelligence (AI) in Moroccan Arabic, also known as Darija. This development is a result of a strategic partnership between the Ministry of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform and French AI company Mistral AI. The partnership aims to develop a sovereign and responsible AI that is tailored to Morocco's linguistic and cultural specificities.
The launched components include two models, one for language identification and classification, and another for automatic speech recognition in Moroccan Arabic, dubbed "Voxtral". The language identification model can recognize various Arabic dialects and distinguish between them, including Moroccan Darija. Voxtral enables the conversion of speech to text, including cases of language switching between Arabic, French, and English. These tools are expected to be released in an open-source format soon.
The release of these AI components is part of Morocco's digital strategy, "Morocco Digital 2030", and the "AI Made in Morocco" roadmap. The goal is to develop AI solutions that are more relevant to the actual needs of Moroccan citizens. By making digital services more accessible, particularly in languages used in daily life, the government aims to enhance digital inclusion and innovation.
The partnership between the Moroccan government and Mistral AI is multi-year and aims to develop more AI models and use cases to strengthen national capacities in generative AI, language processing, speech recognition, and digital public services. The Ministry of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform is working on designing and testing various AI solutions and models to enrich its AI platform.
According to the Ministry, the launch of these AI components marks a significant milestone in the "AI Made in Morocco" roadmap, which aims to develop useful, sovereign, and relevant AI for Morocco. The Ministry believes that enabling AI to better understand Moroccan Arabic and gradually other national languages will enhance digital inclusion, public service quality, and Morocco's control over its technological choices.
The development of these AI components has the potential to open up new opportunities in various fields, including public services, education, media, customer support, document digitization, and multi-language data processing. The Ministry is committed to continuing its efforts to develop AI solutions that meet the needs of Moroccan citizens and promote digital transformation.
The Moroccan government and Mistral AI are set to continue their collaboration to develop more AI models and use cases, strengthening Morocco's position in the field of AI. The launch of these AI components marks an important step towards achieving the goals of "Morocco Digital 2030" and promoting digital innovation in the country.
Key points
- Morocco launches first AI components in Moroccan Arabic with Mistral AI
- The launched components include language identification and automatic speech recognition models
- The partnership aims to develop a sovereign and responsible AI tailored to Morocco's linguistic and cultural specificities
