Good day, everyone. My name is Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo, and I’m the Founder and Chief Future Officer of NightOwlGPT. Thank you for joining me today to discuss a mission that’s deeply personal and vitally important: preserving endangered languages and bridging the digital divide.

I want to begin by taking you to the Philippines—my home, and a country of 117 million people with over 180 languages. These languages carry our histories, our values, and our dreams, passed down through many generations. As a member of the Karay-a ethnolinguistic group, I’ve seen firsthand the silent crisis of language loss that we face. Unfortunately, this situation is not unique to the Philippines; it’s a global phenomenon.

In fact, nearly half of the world’s living languages are endangered, and if no urgent action is taken, experts predict that 95% of these could vanish by the end of this century. Losing a language isn’t just about losing words; it’s about losing stories, identities, and precious cultural heritage. When a language disappears, an entire world of knowledge and tradition disappears with it.

As AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives, the importance of language support in these technologies grows. However, ChatGPT—one of the most advanced conversational AI tools available—officially supports only 58 languages. That’s less than 1% of the world’s languages. This gap leaves vast communities without resources to engage fully in the digital age.

Consider that English speakers constitute just 18.7% of the global population, yet they dominate AI research, capacity, and development. If you look at the top 20 countries leading the AI revolution, none are in the developing world. This imbalance doesn’t just create a technological divide—it exacerbates cultural, educational, and economic inequalities, placing many languages, including my own Karay-a, at even greater risk.

I’ve felt these challenges acutely. During my tenure as the youngest Deputy Minister in the Department of Information and Communications Technology of the Philippines—and earlier as the Chair of the Build Build Build Committee, responsible for modernizing our country’s infrastructure—I saw how critical it is to develop not just roads and subways but also digital infrastructure.

After serving four Philippine Presidents, I decided to continue my studies at the London School of Economics and Oxford University to gain the insights necessary to address these digital gaps back home. This path led me to create NightOwlGPT, an AI-driven desktop and mobile application dedicated to preserving endangered languages and empowering communities worldwide.

NightOwlGPT is more than just a translation tool; it’s a digital companion designed to break language barriers. Our application is currently fluent in three Philippine languages—Tagalog, Cebuano, and Ilokano—offering real-time, accurate translations across regions. This helps people from different linguistic backgrounds communicate effectively, fostering unity and inclusivity.

We also prioritize accessibility. NightOwlGPT is being tested by differently abled individuals to ensure it is user-friendly for persons with disabilities. Accessibility isn’t an afterthought; it’s part of our core design philosophy.

Beyond translation, NightOwlGPT embeds cultural competence. Imagine teaching students math using their home language so they can grasp complex concepts more intuitively. Our app can even provide step-by-step solutions to equations, making education more inclusive for all learners. By preserving cultural nuances, NightOwlGPT honors the diversity that defines each community.

But our mission doesn’t end with language preservation. By empowering marginalized voices and protecting cultural heritage, we support inclusive development. We believe that strong linguistic roots and technological inclusion go hand in hand. When communities can express themselves in their mother tongues, they flourish—culturally, socially, and economically.

NightOwlGPT is currently in beta testing with hundreds of global testers, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. From this momentum, we aim to develop and patent an enhanced NLP model specifically designed for low-resource languages with complex morphologies. We’re also looking to collaborate with industry and academia—because it will take a global effort to ensure no language is left behind.

In the next five years, we plan to expand into four countries: the Philippines, Ghana, Pakistan, and Colombia. These nations collectively represent a TAM (Total Addressable Market) of 437 million people. We project a Serviceable Market of 251 million and an Obtainable Market of 19 million. Our goal is to create a solution that is both profitable and impactful—where sustainability drives continuous innovation.

We’re partnering with outstanding individuals from the London School of Economics, Oxford University, Harvard Kennedy School, King’s College, NYU, UNDP, and FAO—leaders who have successfully launched major government and private-sector initiatives across Ghana, Pakistan, the Philippines, Colombia, Mexico, and Nigeria. Their hands-on experience will guide us in tailoring NightOwlGPT to local contexts, ensuring real community impact.

Just last month, I attended One Young World Indigenous Youth Day in Montreal, Canada, as an Impact AI Scholar of The Brandtech Group. There, I encountered over 100 Indigenous youth leaders from across the globe. Their stories mirrored mine—each one a reflection of how crucial and urgent it is to protect our linguistic and cultural identities. This isn’t just a Philippine issue or an Indigenous issue; it’s a global challenge requiring global collaboration.

With your support, NightOwlGPT can reach the communities most in need, ensuring that every language, every story, and every voice is preserved and celebrated. Thank you for believing in our vision. Together, we can build an AI future that includes and uplifts us all.

Thank you.

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