Power of AI brings Urdu books to life
Engineers at NED University of Engineering and Technology claim to have developed an Artificial Intelligence-powered application that brings Urdu books to life.
The app can convert printed Urdu text from images or fonts into editable digital files. The text is then transformed into speech, creating an audiobook from any Urdu text. "The beta version of the app is expected to be released within the next three months," the project lead, Associate Professor Dr Majida Kazmi, told The Express Tribune.
The app is capable of adjusting font sizes ranging from 8 to 40, while also offering 135 different script styles, she said, adding that the app will allow users to quickly translate websites from various languages, including English, into Urdu, making content more accessible. The project has been supported by the Anjuman Tarqi Urdu.
Despite Urdu being the 10th most spoken language in the world, its digital footprint has been limited, Dr Kazmi said. The project aims to address this gap by making Urdu texts - whether from books, articles, or other sources - machine-readable.
One of the project's features is its ability to convert Urdu text to speech, providing a synthetic voice with clear and accurate pronunciation. This ensures that users can listen to the content with an authentic Urdu accent. The technology has even been tested with older newspapers, proving its versatility in handling diverse types of written Urdu.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
ACCA & EY offer new guidance to boost confidence in AI
KARACHI: ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and global professional services firm EY have released a joint policy paper, AI Assessments: Enhancing Confidence in AI, offering new guidance to help businesses evaluate and trust their Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. As AI adoption accelerates globally, the paper highlights the growing importance of AI assessments — evaluations that span governance, compliance, and performance - to ensure systems are well-governed, legally compliant, and aligned with user expectations. These assessments are essential for businesses aiming to unlock AI's potential for innovation, productivity, and sustainable growth. The report identifies three key types of AI assessments: 'Governance assessments' to evaluate oversight structures; 'Conformity assessments' to ensure legal and regulatory compliance; and 'Performance assessments' to measure system effectiveness against defined criteria. It also addresses the current challenges in this emerging field, such as inconsistent methodologies and lack of skilled providers, and offers actionable solutions — like clearer standards, better-defined objectives, and professional accountability. The paper encourages business leaders to leverage both voluntary and mandated assessments to strengthen corporate governance and stakeholder trust. Policymakers are urged to support standardized, internationally aligned frameworks and invest in market capacity for high-quality evaluations. Helen Brand, Chief Executive of ACCA, emphasized the need to build trust in AI, to serve the public interest, while EY's Marie-Laure Delarue highlighted the critical role of rigorous assessments in unlocking AI's full potential and navigating its risks. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Express Tribune
ElevenLabs unveils AI music generator for commercial use
AI audio company ElevenLabs has unveiled a new AI music generation model, claiming it is cleared for commercial use. This marks the company's move beyond its established expertise in text-to-speech technology and conversational bots, expanding into the music generation space. Since its inception three years ago, ElevenLabs has primarily focused on AI tools that convert text to speech, as well as developing systems for multilingual speech translation. With the launch of its AI music model, announced through a blogpost on ElevenLabs website, the company now seeks to tap into the rapidly growing market of music creation and AI innovation. As part of the announcement, ElevenLabs showcased samples of the AI-generated music. Introducing Eleven Music. The highest quality AI music model. - Complete control over genre, style, and structure - Multi-lingual, including English, Spanish, German, Japanese and more - Edit the sound and lyrics of individual sections or the whole song — ElevenLabs (@elevenlabsio) August 5, 2025 One such sample features a synthetic voice rapping about its rise from humble beginnings, echoing the experiences of iconic hip-hop artists such as Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar. While the creation of such music demonstrates the capabilities of AI, it has also raised concerns about the ethical implications of emulating real-world artists' lived experiences. These concerns come amid increasing scrutiny around AI's role in music production. Last year, startups Suno and Udio faced lawsuits from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), accusing them of using copyrighted music to train their models without permission. Created in collaboration with labels, publishers, and artists, Eleven Music is cleared for broad commercial use. For more information on supported usage: — ElevenLabs (@elevenlabsio) August 5, 2025 The companies have since sought to reach licensing agreements with major record labels. In response to concerns about using copyrighted material, ElevenLabs has announced partnerships with Merlin Network and Kobalt Music Group, two digital platforms that work with independent musicians. These deals provide ElevenLabs with the rights to use certain materials for AI training, ensuring the company has the necessary permissions. Merlin Network, which represents high-profile artists such as Adele, Nirvana, and Mitski, and Kobalt, which works with the likes of Beck, Bon Iver, and Childish Gambino, have confirmed that their clients can opt-in for AI usage. A representative from Kobalt noted that artists stand to gain new revenue opportunities through the arrangement, offering revenue sharing, safeguards against misuse, and terms comparable to other industry deals. Eleven Music is now live - the highest quality AI music model. When creating the product, we accidentally entered a GitHub PR link into the generator. Here's what it produced. — ElevenLabs Developers (@ElevenLabsDevs) August 5, 2025 With the rise of AI in music production, ElevenLabs' model is positioned to lead the next wave of music innovation while ensuring compliance with copyright laws and fair compensation for artists.
Business Recorder
5 days ago
- Business Recorder
India's Bharti Airtel launches cloud, AI services for businesses, telcos
Bharti Airtel's digital unit Xtelify on Monday announced a new cloud platform and AI-powered software offerings for businesses and telecom operators, alongside partnerships with Singtel, Globe Telecom and Airtel Africa. Airtel Cloud offers a range of services including, infrastructure- and platform-as-a-service with secure migration and scaling, the company said in a statement. The new AI-powered software platform for telcom operators features a data engine, workforce tools and customer engagement modules to improve service and lift average revenue per user (ARPU) - a key metric for the sector, India's No. 2 telecom operator added. As part of the plan, Airtel has partnered with Singtel, Globe Telecom and Airtel Africa to deploy the platform, enabling applications such as AI-driven workforce optimisation, omni-channel customer service and real-time customer engagement. India's Andhra Pradesh state approves up to $600 million for electronic parts production India has been stepping up efforts to pilot local cloud data storage. The country's cloud services market was estimated at $8.3 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to $24.2 billion by 2028, according to a 2024 report by International Data Corporation. The market is so far largely dominated by foreign firms. Last month, Airtel announced a partnership with AI-powered search engine Perplexity, offering a 12-month free subscription to its 360 million customers.
