In this 1-minute spotlight with She Shapes AI, I highlighted a challenge close to my heart: the Philippines’ incredible linguistic diversity—180 languages, nearly half of them endangered. It’s alarming to see how the global digital divide grows wider when less than 1% of languages worldwide are reflected in AI systems. To me, preserving languages isn’t simply a tech challenge—it’s an urgent human rights imperative. Every language lost silences communities, erases histories, and diminishes cultural identity. We need to bridge this gap, and fast.

Our NightOwl AI Founder delivered a powerful One Young World address at ICM – Messe München, Germany, spotlighting the urgency of language inclusion in AI and how NightOwl AI is safeguarding linguistic heritage—enabling elders to teach, children to learn, and communities to access their words with pride and consent.