Tech firm looks to AI to help remote kids

iFlytek Co Ltd, a Shenzhen-listed tech firm, is using artificial intelligence to help children in remote areas get a better education.

With an initial investment of 10 million yuan ($1.45 million), the company, which is known for its voice-recognition technology, will donate artificial-intelligence-enabled teaching products to pupils in poorer regions.

In a statement, the company said: "We hope the children in remote regions will also enjoy the happiness brought by technological advancements and be able to access quality educational resources just as their urban counterparts do."

By partnering with Beijing Normal University, Anhui Normal University, Northeast Normal University and other higher education institutions, the company will also regularly organize volunteers to teach students in rural areas and send out teams of experts to train local teachers in how to effectively use information technology in classrooms.

The company stated: "Our AI-enabled products and services have been widely applied in the education sector. Our experience in serving 80 million teachers and students around China has helped us know what is needed in classrooms and empowers us to launch the initiative."

In the first half of this year, the company will have launched pilot projects in primary schools in Anhui, Henan, Guizhou and other less-developed provinces, before it extends the initiative to cover other provinces later.

iFlytek has also called on other companies to join the initiative. These include insurance giant Ping An Group, Chery Automobile Co and the Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co - which will use their own resources to contribute to the project.

iFlytek has laid out a detailed plan for the project. It will donate 1 million yuan worth of products to six primary schools in Henan and 800,000 yuan to five primary schools in Tibet.

The company said: "Tech can not only promote interaction between teachers and students, but it can also help inspire children's imagination. We hope every kid can benefit from that."

masi@chinadaily.com.cn

A worker at iFlytek demonstrates a type of education software developed by the company. Yang Zhu / For China Daily