Case Name: Yunnan, China · Lancang-Mekong Countries Cross-Border Language AI Large Model

Case Category: Technological Empowerment for the Inheritance and Innovation of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Case Location: Yunnan Province, China

Case Applicants: Yunnan Endangered Language and Culture Communication Co., Ltd., Zhiyi, Shanghai Biren Technology Co., Ltd.

Case Overview:

Case Description

The construction starts with the building of a high-quality corpus. The basic process of corpus construction includes: first, collecting high-quality audio corpora in a recording studio, followed by annotation and proofreading. Based on the vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation characteristics of the collected languages, basic AI large models such as an AI-based text translation and generation system, a speech synthesis system and a speech recognition system are further built. Relying on these basic systems, applications for multiple fields are developed, including government governance, language resource protection, intangible cultural heritage inheritance, cultural and tourism promotion, education improvement and e-commerce.

Solutions and Innovation

The Lancang-Mekong River Basin runs through six countries, where dozens of cross-border ethnic groups live. Most of them use their own native languages different from official languages, and language differences create significant barriers to folk and cultural communication. Since most of these languages lack written records and digital corpora, traditional translation methods can hardly systematically solve the problem of language interoperability. Therefore, promoting the construction of the Lancang-Mekong Countries Cross-Border Language AI Large Model is of great significance for protecting linguistic and cultural resources, promoting regional peace and stability, and achieving digital equity.

This case directly addresses the three core pain points in the Lancang-Mekong region caused by language barriers: governance difficulties, cultural loss and unbalanced development. By building a cross-border language AI large model, it provides digital basic tools for solving deep-seated social problems in the region such as long-standing armed conflicts, drug crimes and economic backwardness.

Firstly, the cross-border language AI large model provides a technical foundation for cross-language information translation and communication, empowering information interoperability scenarios such as government affairs, online content review and security early warning. It helps break information barriers, improve the efficiency of regional collaborative governance and judicial cooperation, and provides technical support for combating cross-border crimes and promoting peaceful dialogue.

Secondly, it rescues and protects endangered language resources in a digital way, enabling them to be recorded, learned and used, providing an innovative carrier for the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage and cultural and tourism promotion, and mitigating cultural loss caused by language gaps.

Finally, it reduces the digital divide, enabling ethnic minority groups to access digital education, e-commerce and cultural and tourism services in their native languages, obtain development opportunities and information, promote the inclusive growth of the regional digital economy, and fundamentally weaken the breeding ground of unstable factors such as poverty.

Social Effects

There are about 7,000 languages in the world, and more than 6,500 of them are low-resource languages. The "Lancang-Mekong Model" of this case provides a transferable solution for many regions around the world facing similar dilemmas. Through the path of "corpus co-development - foundational model - scenario-based application", this model can quickly adapt to local languages, providing a ready-to-use technical toolbox for promoting cross-regional governance cooperation, digitally preserving endangered cultures and reducing the digital divide, so as to solve governance fragmentation, cultural inheritance crises and uneven economic development exacerbated by language barriers.

This case plans to invest 10 million yuan from 2026 to 2028 to cooperate with Peking University to build a Low-Resource Language AI Large Model Technology Research Center, a corpus and an AI computing power center. In the future, it will build a World Language Center, with the ultimate goal of developing a world language AI large model named "Tower of Babel". This model will continuously document the process of human civilization and strive to build a global and inclusive knowledge base.

Support for Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 1 (No Poverty)

SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being)

SDG 4 (Quality Education)

SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)

SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities)

SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)