AI fuels rise of Indic linguists shaping global language models

Bengaluru: As AI companies push to make their models relevant across cultures and geographies, linguistic expertise has emerged as a critical skill in the AI economy.

AI is fuelling the rise of linguists who design prompts to test models on cultural nuance, bias, and taboos; benchmark responses for tone, accuracy, and cultural appropriateness; and review datasets to ensure they reflect diverse contexts. For Indian linguists, especially in underrepresented languages, opportunities are accelerating. Some US firms and recruitment platforms list rates ranging from $10 to $50 an hour, reflecting the growing demand and varied duration of projects.