Is Africa in danger of missing out on the benefits of AI?

All thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI), businesses and society as a whole are becoming innovative with the seamless handling of big data. Experts warn that African economies run the risk of falling behind. There have been concerns expressed on the inadequate capacity of virtual storage and the progressively antiquated mobile technology that is observable across the continent.

The facts

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the capacity to outsmart humans and complete any given work far more quickly and precisely. Furthermore, there is no denying AI’s enormous potential, which contributes to making the world a better place to live.

In the next few years key sectors within African economies are projected to witness acceleration and deployment of AI to first augment operations, assist learning, and position the continent for future opportunities.

According to a study, “Africa’s tech boom is often linked to fintech, but the largest tech acquisition in the continent during the last years was AI-focused. Indeed, AI tech is growing across Africa, with over 2,400 companies specializing in AI, 41% of which are startups. Estimates indicate that the technology could contribute $1.2 billion to the continent’s GDP by 2030, if it could only capture 10% of the fast-growing global AI market. This configuration has contributed to the emergence of an AI ecosystem in Africa.”

By utilizing AI technologies, Africa can accelerate traditional development routes. As there are fewer legacy systems to overcome, there’s an opportunity to directly adopt state-of-the-art AI solutions, which could hasten development and economic progress.

The arguments

The real fear is that Africa may miss out on this impending AI revolution. The root cause being the continent’s lack of storage for data. Several factors impede Africa’s AI uptake indeed which is already hanging in the balance.

Infrastructure challenges are on the list of these factors. The implementation of AI technologies is hampered by many African countries’ limited access to dependable internet connectivity and energy. It becomes challenging to develop AI systems without a strong infrastructure.

The problem of data accessibility and quality presents another difficulty. Large volumes of high-quality data are needed for the training and validation of AI models. Unfortunately, poor data collection methods cause problems with data accessibility and quality in many African nations. Data privacy issues could also make it more difficult to obtain important datasets.

However, some African countries have adopted data legislation to regulate data processing and personal information used by processors. Frameworks have also been put in place to address data protection. For example, Ghana’s Data Protection Act was enacted in 2012 while that of Kenya enacted in 2019.

AI applications and technologies have the potential to address many of the most important issues facing humanity, such as promoting a world that is less ill, less hungry, more productive, better educated, and better equipped to fend off the effects of climate change.

But a persisting digital gap prevents many Africans from having extensive access to AI technologies. The continent faces challenges in completely integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into numerous industries due to limited infrastructure, low internet access, and socioeconomic inequality, which exacerbates already existing developmental gaps.

Although Africa has witnessed some progress on the digital front, there still remains a large digital divide that requires stakeholders to implement stringent and necessary reforms to bridge the gap. The continent has had a snail pace towards reaching the 5G goal compared to advanced countries.

Also, African nations frequently rely on artificial intelligence (AI) solutions created by international businesses, which might not adequately handle the region’s particular problems or give priority to its development objectives. This reliance may restrict Africa’s independence and impede the development of native AI technologies adapted to regional conditions.

Expert advice that cooperation is essential to avoid the risk of losing the advantages of AI. Africa has to put a high priority on building digital infrastructure, support STEM education, encourage data sharing programs, pass strong laws, and create an environment that is favorable to local AI innovation.

Despite these developments, concerns still arise over the deployment of AI and its impact on human lives, jobs, security, and authenticity.