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The Internet for the Illiterate

The internet is currently exclusive to those who are literate, but it has the potential to benefit everyone. IBM developed a project called the Spoken Web to provide an internet for those who are illiterate. It is based on voice recordings and can be navigated with a phone solely capable of making calls. This concept has been implemented in rural communities across the world, including India. The article I linked talks about its implementation in Mali. The farmers use it to gather and provide information about crops, farming techniques, and other general advice.

This article connects to both our current topic of social networks and our future topic of the internet. This spoken web creates a social network of farmers who are contributing to and benefitting from this resource. It is also relevant to our future topic of the internet. The way this spoken web is navigated is fascinating to study, as farmers navigate the various voice recordings with voice input into their cell phones. It seems to have been structured similarly to the internet we know, yet obviously needed to be adapted for those who can only speak. In my opinion, the real challenge is being able to search and find the exact information you are seeking by only navigating with your voice, and I am curious to read more and learn exactly how they’ll do that.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21829145-900-voice-based-web-access-helps-illiterate-get-online/

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