Starting this week, Tokikom is offering a new option: AI-powered simplified texts. This system, developed with Basque learners and individuals facing reading difficulties in mind, is an addition to the other features already available on the websites of media outlets within Tokikom.
Previously, the platform allowed users to read texts aloud and translate headlines and introductions into multiple languages. Now, with a simple button press, readers will have the option to access content in a more simplified form of Basque.
“"It offers texts of high quality, but it will always be accompanied by a notice stating that it is an automatic simplification that may contain errors."
This initiative by Tokikom represents the first development in Basque for simplifying news at a public level. Before its launch, Tokikom journalists conducted numerous evaluations of sample texts to train and refine the system. The system itself, developed by Etxegoien alongside colleague Jesus Calleja, is based on a year of development.
Thierry Etxegoien has cautioned that the provided text is an automated simplification without human oversight. In terms of technological evolution, the process has moved from rule-based simplification to data-driven methods, and now, with generative AI, large models have been created capable of performing various tasks with minimal data. "These models have a very powerful way of reasoning," he noted.
Controlling the tendency of artificial intelligence to 'hallucinate' has been one of the main challenges. "These systems write very well, but sometimes they forget the task or deviate completely," Etxegoien explained. In journalism, the primary goal is to maintain accuracy by conveying all the information from the original text in a more accessible manner, without losing any details.
