Lenovo, a company that is ranked 248th in the Fortune Global 500 and generates revenue of $57 billion US dollars, with millions of customers all over the world, has started its first-ever AI hub in Hong Kong in partnership with the Bridge Foundation, a charitable organization that has been dedicated to serving the underprivileged, especially the SEN students, since 2015 and making a positive impact in their lives. Choosing Hong Kong as the base of this launch was the right call. The worldwide shortage of specially trained teachers is an issue that is becoming worse as time passes. Alarmingly, 90% of disabled students in developed nations lack access to properly trained educators. In Hong Kong, the number of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other special education needs (SEN) is shocking to hear. Approximately 1 in 20 children is diagnosed with SEN, with a 106% increase over the past decade. For supporting students with special educational needs (SEN), the methodology of applied behavior analysis (ABA) is used. However, this method consists of sessions, and even a single session is time-consuming and requires specialized training, which can be expensive too. There is also a huge shortage of trained professionals.
Addressing this issue, Bridge Foundation, partnering with Lenovo, is launching its AI-assisted learning center for SEN. This scenario identified the necessity, for the launch of the learning center could impact a lot of lives. This technology captures the learning process along with the psychological and environmental data; it tracks the training performances of the students and recommends customized IEPs (individualized education plans). The parents of the students for whom this technology is available have already started seeing the changes. One of the testimonies of a mother was that she has already seen her son develop verbal and non-verbal communication skills and improve focus along with socialization and playfulness all within a time period of two weeks with the help of the technology. Levono has developed with the help of AI to recognize human gestures and voices, objects, and training the AI, which will help the therapist as an ABAS domain-specific language model. It also includes features from the body movements tracked through the classroom cameras to eye-tracking technologies for attention and for monitoring the focus of students. Fan Ho, Lenovo Solutions and Services Group executive director & general manager, Asia Pacific, said that “the most vital connection is between students, teachers, and parents. That’s the true meaning of AI for all. It drives our mission.” This mission, or the collaboration between Lenovo and Bridge Foundation, is transforming lives, and education, by utilizing the latest AI technology, finding solutions to global issues, and making a positive impact is a remarkable milestone for both Lenovo and Bridge Foundation.
