Sheriff Issaka

Sheriff Issaka is the Founder and Head of Research at the African Languages Lab and a PhD student in Computer Science at UCLA. His passion lies at the intersection of AI, language, and social impact. A simple goal drives him: to make technology truly multilingual and inclusive. At the African Languages Lab, he leads an amazing team building LLMs and translation engines that support 40 African languages, helping millions of people connect and communicate in their own voices. His research focuses on multilingual AI, robustness, and fairness in low-resource settings. He enjoys solving complex problems, mentoring others, and collaborating across disciplines to push the boundaries of what AI can achieve for real-world communities. Always happy to connect with others passionate about language, technology, and building a more inclusive digital future.