Our Voices
In Hausa, namu means “ours”. Our Voices is our programme to teach AI the languages of Niger and the Sahel, with the voices of the people who speak them.
AI still does not understand our languages well
Try talking to a voice assistant in Hausa or Zarma. Most of the time, it does not understand you.
To learn a language, an AI has to hear a lot of people speak it. English and French have plenty of recordings. Hausa has a few, and Zarma, Tamasheq or Fulfulde have almost none.
What exists is often text read aloud. Nobody talks like that at the market.
Without these recordings, there will be no good tools in our languages. So we decided to make them ourselves, with you.
That is why we built tata. You record your voice as you play, and every accepted recording is paid.
How it works
We wanted it to be simple, so tata works like a game.
You go from mission to mission
A penguin guides you. Every contribution earns points, and you can take a break whenever you want, with no penalty.
Three ways to take part
You can record your voice, listen to other people's, or check their work.
For any adult who speaks their language
You record your voice
You do the missions at your own pace. Each one takes a few minutes.
Paid for every accepted voice.
The rules for contributing
- Adults onlyBefore your first recording, you accept the participation agreement. In Hausa, you can also listen to it.
- Your name stays privateThe people who listen to your voice never see your name. If one of them recognises you, the recording goes to someone else.
- You can change your mindFor 14 days, you can withdraw a contribution in one tap. After that, just ask us.
- Where your recordings goNamu keeps them in the United States, for its research and its AI products. They are not published automatically.
- You can try againIf a mission is turned down several times, it pauses for a few days, then you can do it again. Nobody judges your voice or your accent.
- One accountThe same account works in the app and on the web. Each contribution is counted only once.
Join us on tata
tata already works in your phone's browser. The iPhone and Android apps are on their way.
For organisations