The Karnataka government is exploring pilot projects with voice AI company ElevenLabs across skilling, healthcare, investment promotion, culture and citizen services, as the state looks to expand the use of artificial intelligence in public service delivery.
The discussions were held in Bengaluru between Karnataka Minister for Home, Information Technology, Biotechnology and E-Governance Priyank Kharge, senior state officials and a delegation from ElevenLabs. The engagement remains at an exploratory stage, with no agreement signed so far.
Among the potential applications discussed was a voice-enabled interview practice tool that could support skilling and employment preparation in Indian languages. Voice AI could also be deployed to assist prospective investors seeking information about opportunities, government programmes and schemes in the state.
Healthcare emerged as another potential area for deployment. The discussions examined how voice technology could help restore communication for people who have lost the ability to speak. Applications involving cultural programmes and other citizen-facing government services were also considered.
ElevenLabs demonstrated its voice-enabled interview practice technology during the meeting. The company also presented its work around synthetic audio detection, provenance, traceability and watermarking, as concerns grow over the potential misuse of AI-generated voices.
Responsible AI formed a significant part of the discussions. Officials examined the risk of synthetic voices being used to spread misinformation about government schemes, programmes and public announcements, making safeguards against deepfakes an important consideration for any government deployment.
Kharge has asked the teams to prepare a roadmap covering the identified use cases and work towards an initial pilot that can demonstrate measurable public impact before applications are considered for wider deployment.
The engagement with ElevenLabs follows Karnataka's recent discussions with other AI companies as it builds out its technology ecosystem. Earlier in August, the state held talks with Anthropic around potential collaboration in citizen-centric governance, skilling, scientific research, startup enablement and its proposed AI University initiative.
The ElevenLabs team has also invited Kharge to participate in its India Summit in Bengaluru in October, where the company is expected to discuss developments in voice AI and its applications in the Indian market.
The proposed pilots indicate Karnataka's focus on moving AI applications from demonstrations towards practical public-sector deployments, while placing safeguards around synthetic media and responsible use alongside accessibility and service delivery.
Disclaimer: This article may include information derived from interviews, press releases, public statements, research, company communications and other publicly available or third-party sources. Such material may be summarised, paraphrased or contextualised for journalistic and editorial purposes. All rights in third-party content remain with their respective owners.