According to him, this changed the entire paradigm of language technology. Whereas previously a separate model had to be created for each task, now one good language model is enough.<\/p>\r\n
Language technology is a rapidly developing field that directly impacts the survival of smaller languages, like Estonian, in the digital world. TalTech's Laboratory of Language Technology<\/a> holds a leading position in the field of language models in Estonia and develops both scientific and practical applications.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Earlier this year, news that Estonian language data had found its way into the training materials of major international AI models sparked debate in society. \u201cWe didn\u2019t give the data directly to Meta \u2013 it was already publicly available,\u201d clarified Alum\u00e4e.<\/a><\/p>\r\n In his view, sharing Estonian language data is in our own interest, because if we want large language technology systems to understand Estonian, we must show them the way to access this data.<\/p>\r\n According to Alum\u00e4e, Estonian cannot survive in the technological future without a clear principle that quality language data must be available in Estonian for both researchers and businesses. \u201cIf artificial intelligence doesn\u2019t understand Estonian, the language will gradually disappear in real life too. We must do everything we can to ensure that Estonian is visible and accessible in future-shaping systems.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n \u201cWe must do everything we can to ensure that Estonian is visible and accessible in future-shaping systems.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>","image":null,"align":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","type":"text","text":" Alum\u00e4e distinguishes between commercial models (e.g., OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT<\/a> or Google Gemini<\/a>) and open-source models, as the latter allow for customization and independent application. The work in language technology focuses specifically on open models. \u201cOur goal is not to reinvent the wheel, but to fine-tune existing good models to work for the Estonian language.\u201d<\/p>\r\n This work is primarily valuable for companies and developers who want to integrate language models into their systems and applications. Whether it's chatbots, automated customer service, text summarisation, or specific task solutions \u2013 when data cannot be shared externally or control over costs and security is desired, open-source models that can be adapted as needed are the right tools.<\/p>\r\n Although language technology may seem far removed from the business world at first glance, solutions created in TalTech\u2019s lab have already been widely used \u2013 including outside academic circles.<\/p>\r\nDigital survival starts with shared data<\/h4>\r\n
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Estonian language engineers: TalTech\u2019s team fine-tunes models for work<\/h4>\r\n