Africa is improving its problem-solving methods through self-designed and managed artificial intelligence. (Getty Images)
Africa improves the way it solves problems through self-designed and managed artificial intelligence.
This week, Minister of Communications and Digital Technology Mondli Gungubele, in partnership with the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and the University of Johannesburg, launched the Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa (AIISA).
AIISA will focus on three economic sectors: the fourth industrial revolution in manufacturing, health, agriculture and food processing.
Other entities are also moving forward to develop AI, such as Lelapa AI, which two weeks ago launched as an African-centric research and product laboratory.
Lelapa AI of the future “is AI that helps people to solve contemporary challenges”, said chief executive Pelonomi Moiloa.
Lelapa AI focuses on natural language processing, which allows users to engage with services in their native language.
“Language is an important component in gaining trust and understanding,” Moiloa said.
The origins of the hub come from the Deep Learning Indaba, held annually since 2017, on machine learning and AI in Africa.
AI creates solutions “that are safer, solutions that require limited resources due to costs or because resources are not available, like data” and solutions that cannot be implemented due to limited human resources, said Moiloa, referring to the initiative of the national health department. MomConnect, which supports women’s maternal health through mobile phone technology.
AI helps small-scale farmers with crop monitoring in Uganda, micro-financing for African businesses and data analytics to improve business performance.
In 2014, Kenya’s largest electricity provider, Kenya Power, announced the implementation of an automated system that analyzes real-time data with historical data for utilities to optimize operations.