A Chatbot That Won't Take Bribes For Giving Advice Is A Hit In India

Multiple AI chatbots are being built in India to help the underprivileged seek legal justice, dispense advice to farmers and help migrant workers get support in cities.

ChatGPT quickly found a home in the sophisticated echelons of investment banks and drug design firms. Now, the advanced artificial intelligence is coming to a huge workforce that's largely tech-illiterate and non-English speaking: India's domestic workers, waste recyclers and struggling farmers.

In the crowded neighborhoods of Bangalore, ragpickers, cooks and cleaners are taking part in an AI trial aimed at helping some of the nation's poorest people access money from government anti-poverty programs without getting snarled in red tape and corruption.

It's an opportunity for people such as Vijayalakshmi, who earns just $100 a month cooking for households in Jayanagar. She only uses her smartphone for basic purposes and speaks no English. Yet, that sweltering afternoon in April, she joined a gaggle of domestic workers to experiment with AI technology.

Vijayalakshmi, who goes by a single name as is common in southern India, voiced a question to a bot in her native Kannada language on education scholarships. Moments later, a human-like voice responded to explain the government aid available to her 15-year-old son.