University unveils AI model for Shanghai dialect preservation

Federico Demarco, a recent graduate from Shanghai University who speaks fluent Shanghai dialect, interacts with Xiao Hu. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In the demonstration session, Xiao Hu showcased its capability to recognize and generate Shanghai dialect.

Federico Demarco, an alumnus of the university from Argentina who has experienced the large model for the third time, said it is a good tool for learning Shanghai dialect as there are few online resources he could refer to.

Duan Yong, deputy Party secretary of Shanghai University, said the launch of Xiao Hu, which merges AI technology with Shanghai dialect, contributes to the city's digital revolution besides strengthening the preservation of Shanghai's cultural heritage.

Moving forward, the university said it will further improve the model in the accuracy of the pronunciation, the emotional expression and application in more diverse scenarios such as opera, poems, as well as recognizing varied versions of Shanghai dialect.