Microsoft develops artificial intelligence tool for dyslexia

KUALA LUMPUR – A learning tool using artificial intelligence (AI) has been developed to help students suffering from dyslexia and other learning difficulties improve their classroom performance.

Microsoft’s Immersive Reader, a free learning tool that helps improve reading and writing for students with learning difficulties, was among the AI-assisted technologies featured during the Bett Asia summit here last week.

Amit Pawar, education solution specialist from Microsoft Asia Pacific, said more technologies like the Immersive Reader are taking advantage of AI to assist in education and improve the experience of students, including those who are differently-abled.

“Is AI something that we imagine to be ubiquitous? We believe so. We are in a world where we fundamentally believe that we are in a multi-device, multi-screen or even what is called ambient computing… AI is a great enabler for that environment,” Pawar said.

“AI is not something that is about to happen, AI is already happening,” he added.

Immersive Reader, which may be used as an add-on to Microsoft applications such as Word and One Note, enables decoding of texts to assist students with dyslexia, color blindness and other learning difficulties.

Features include text spacing, syllabification, read aloud, line spacing and picture dictionary.

It was seen as helpful in improving the comprehension of readers in other languages.

“This is one of the most transformative technologies that Microsoft has introduced into all our solutions… It’s leveraging AI,” said Pawar, noting the pictogram feature that is useful for those who have problems with reading.

Artificial intelligence today

Often portrayed as futuristic technology, Pawar said AI – or the technology that can “perceive, learn and reason to extend the capabilities of people” – is slowly being integrated into everyday life.

Microsoft said its popular products such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel all use machine learning to infuse AI driven features, including in spell check, intelligent searches, speech recognition and translation services.

With AI, these features continue to improve as it “learns” from how users utilize them. 

The company said future applications of AI may include personalized learning, AI-assisted teaching, immersive and experiential learning and virtual environments, among others.

Pawar underscored how AI can improve education worldwide, citing examples such as the presentation translator that translates in real time what a speaker is saying.

He said this would enable students from different countries to learn in the same classroom despite language barriers.

“We want to empower students to achieve more,” he said. “We want them to have access to the relevant tools and the relevant way of using those tools (because) in the context of learning, these things make a difference.”

With AI starting to become part of everyday life, Pawar said it is important to push for the ethical use of the technology.

One of the challenges is to be conscious of the different kinds of biases that AI can bring to the environment, particularly on gender, culture and race, among others, he said.

“These things are now ubiquitous. Just like cybersecurity is a conversation no longer a responsibility of the technology companies. It’s now at a much higher humanity level. Same thing needs to happen to AI,” Pawar said.

“AI is going to be there, we just need to ethically use it,” he added.