Harnessing AI to Transform Healthcare in Africa
Addressing the Shortage of Trained Medical Professionals and Improving Maternal Health Outcomes One of the sectors that the GSMA report did not highlight but for which artificial intelligence (AI) applications could be game-changing is healthcare. The African continent faces a significant shortage of trained medical professionals. In many African countries, the number of doctors per capita […]
Using AI to Align Research to SDGs
A recent paper titled “Leveraging AI and Data Visualization for Enhanced Policy-Making: Aligning Research Initiatives with Sustainable Development Goals” explores an innovative approach to utilizing artificial intelligence to better align research projects with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Authored by researchers from Universidade de Pernambuco in Brazil and Dublin City University in Ireland, […]
Ai4SDG – GSMA Report
Challenges = Data, Compute & Skills Gap A recent report from GSMA entitled “AI for Africa: Use Cases Delivering Impact” discusses the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in addressing key development challenges across Africa, particularly in the sectors of agriculture, food security, energy, and climate action. Funded by UK Aid and supported by the […]
Investing in Data for Public Good
Key Insights from Philip Thigo During the launch of our AI4SDG centre, Philip Thigo, a UN High Level Advisory Board Member on AI, delivered an inspiring keynote speech. He emphasized the crucial need to invest in data not for profit, but for the public good. Thigo highlighted several key points: Data Investment for Public Good […]
AI for SDGs – Its All About the Data
I recently came across the following article: “Surveying Attitudinal Alignment between Large Language Models vs. Humans towards 17 Sustainable Development Goals.” For those who aren’t aware, in 2015 the United Nations endorsed the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” that included 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), along with 169 specific targets, aimed at addressing a range […]
AI + AT = ?
Can Artificial Intelligence Improve Assistive Technologies for Persons with Disabilities? Across Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Persons with Disabilities are 2.3 times more likely to be unemployed than people without disability. Among the many factors that contribute to this disparity is the lack of assistive technologies. (In East Africa, where Next Step […]
Roughnecks in the Machine
Data Annotators are the Roughnecks of AI Then Now Staff of Juma work on computers at the office in Lagos, Nigeria, on January 20, 2020. Picture taken January 20, 2020. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja As I noted in a recent post, in 2017, The Economist magazine said “data” was the oil of the digital era. If that […]
Responsible AI in Africa Requires DATA
“There is inherent power and control in datasets.” Whether AI is or will be “ethical” or “responsible” is the subject of much conjecture and debate, but most of that discussion has centred around the Global North. Far less attention is paid to how AI will affect the economies (and cultures) of countries in Africa. A […]
