A pilot project introducing automated Maltese subtitles for news broadcasts has been launched, as part of a wider initiative aimed at strengthening the language's presence in the digital and artificial intelligence sphere.

The project forms part of SaqWI - a questions and answers corpus funded by Microsoft's AI for Good Lab, and is being developed by the Ċentru tal-Ilsien Malti in collaboration with the Department of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Malta.

Under the pilot, the system will be used during the 6pm news bulletin, with automatically generated subtitles verified and refined ahead of the 8pm broadcast.

The dataset will be built on between 100 and 150 hours of transcription, using audio and audiovisual data from Public Broadcasting Services archives.

This ensures the data remains fully localised and rooted in the Maltese context, including the country's culture, history and realities, rather than relying on translated foreign datasets, the statement said.

An agreement between TVM and the Maltese Language Centre was signed in the presence of Culture Minister Owen Bonnici, reinforcing efforts to maintain and promote the Maltese language, both spoken and written, at the highest standards.

Bonnici said the project marked another important step in ensuring the Maltese language remains relevant in today's and tomorrow's technological developments.

"Through artificial intelligence, we are continuing to give Maltese a voice in new domains, while strengthening accessibility and inclusion for all. This initiative clearly shows how our linguistic heritage can go hand in hand with innovation," he said.

To convert the data into written text, Microsoft's speech-to-text technology will be used, enabling spoken language to be transcribed through artificial intelligence, the statement said.

This process will not only create a valuable corpus, but also contribute to the continuous improvement of the technology for the Maltese language.

Both the SaqWI project and the introduction of subtitles align with Malta Vision 2050, particularly macro-measure 82, which aims to strengthen Maltese language skills and ensure the national language plays a full and active role in digital and AI technologies, the statement said.