AI to bring $2.4b to Kenyan economy; AI policy deserves scrutiny
Africa AI News weekly digest...
Good morning, and welcome to the fifth issue of Africa AI News – Weekly News Digest.
Top stories this week — UK-based Public First and Google estimate that AI could bring $2.4 billion to the Kenyan economy! Meanwhile, a number of ending-the-year research reports have been published, with two general themes: policy definition going well, but sometimes a bit airy-fairy; and the use of AI to combat fraud stands out as a killer application for corporates. Ironic, as AI use in fraud has been skyrocketing (see last issue).
A quieter news week, with things winding down in many parts of Africa into the Festive Season (as we call it in Southern Africa).
A note on publishing - we’ll suspend the digest over New Year, with the last issue for 2024 on the 20th December and start up again on Friday 10th January.
Let us know if you have any news you’d like to share, or your views on major AI stories affecting Africa and its people. Just reply to this email.
On with this week’s issue!
/Roger
Economy
AI could boost Kenya's GDP by $2.4 billion
#Kenya #AIeconomy - A report from Public First in collaboration with Google highlights AI's potential to add Sh311 billion ($2.4 billion) to Kenya’s GDP. With 70% of online adults using AI tools weekly, its applications span agriculture, healthcare, education, and climate risk management, AI is already transforming industries and households. View report. (The Star)
R&D
Github top bod says African AI commits growing
#R&D #coding - During a recent visit to South Africa, GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke said that the “Big Four” African tech hubs of South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya have been growing rapidly in contributions to AI-centric projects, at double the rate of other techs. (MyBroadband)
AI model detects banana virus with 96% precision in Mozambique
#Mozambique #agritech - AI algorithms trained on 2,500 images detected Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) with 96.53% precision. The ResNet50 model outperformed others, achieving a training accuracy of 99.56%, offering potential to combat crop diseases and reduce chemical use. (Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research)
Ethiopia develops robots with local processors
#Ethiopia #robotics - At iCog Labs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian researchers developed a robot capable of recognising and kicking a ball using locally made processors. Plans are now underway for the nation's first robot football competition. (Worldcrunch)
AI Policy
Long term strategy for AI to balance usage v. what it can save
#policy #environment - AI is chewing vast amounts of energy in data centres, but can also reduce power consumption by applying it cleverly. So solar power your DCs, and hope for the energy scale to tip the right way. (Mail & Guardian)
SA’s AI policy needs a lot more work
#SouthAfrica #policy - Analyst firm Research ICT Africa does a deep dive into the draft policy frameworks, and finds it wanting in many areas. Key points - little integration with related policies, and a lot of wishful thinking about how it will be executed on. (Tech Policy Press)
Analysis of AU Continental AI Strategy says …more work needed
#AU #AIstrategy - Global law firm White & Case has taken a close look at AI regulation and policy across the African Union, specifically the Continental AI Strategy and how it would actually work in effect (enforcement, management, inter-country alignment). (White & Case)
Call to safeguard Africa’s role in AI governance
#Africa #governance - The Global Centre on AI Governance urges recognition of Africa’s role in AI supply chains and protection of its sovereignty. Despite contributing significantly to AI production, the continent faces socio-economic challenges in leveraging AI locally. (Global Centre on AI Governance)
Arab AI Working Group finalises strategy draft in Egypt
#Egypt #AIstrategy - The Arab AI Working Group convened in New Alamein City to finalise a draft Arab AI Strategy. The group - which is part of the Arab Telecommunications and Information Council of Ministers (ATICM) - also advanced discussions on an Arab Charter for AI Ethics. (MCIT Egypt)
Innovation
AI innovation clusters transforming Africa's ecosystem
#Africa #innovation- A Caribou Digital report, supported by the MasterCard Foundation, emphasises the role of AI innovation clusters in empowering African youth. Collaborations with global tech firms like Google and IBM foster tailored solutions for Africa’s unique challenges. (Techpoint Africa)
China launches AI cooperation group with 80 countries
#China #Zambia #AIdiplomacy - China and Zambia co-chaired the launch of the Group of Friends for International Cooperation on AI Capacity Building at the United Nations. Over 80 countries, including the US, UK, and Brazil, attended the inaugural meeting, highlighting global efforts to build AI capacity. Watch the video. (China Daily)
Education
Nine Africans awarded Google PhD Fellowships for 2024
#Africa #edutech - Nine university scholars from across African received Google PhD Fellowships to fund them to address societal challenges in AI, health technology, and cybersecurity. The Google scheme supports innovation to solve critical regional issues. (University World News)
BBYDI empowers Nigerian teachers with AI training
#Nigeria #edutech - Abuja-based Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI) trained educators in North Central Nigeria on integrating AI into classrooms. The workshop addressed personalising learning, improving productivity, and ethical issues like privacy and bias. (The Informant 247)
Applications
“Justice AI” must help the disabled
#SouthAfrica #disabled #law - The annual Disability Rights Conference - which took place last month in Johannesburg - saw a paper on the obligation Africans countries have under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to put in place systems to help the disabled, and how AI can help them with legal matters. (Eyewitness News)
AI impact on short term insurance industry booms
#SouthAfrica #insuretech - South African research firm Insight Surveys produced its annual survey of the insuretech market, finding huge growth in AI applications. Unfortunately applications have a large bias towards using chatbots for “improving” customer service. (Bizcommunity)
AI for new materials in battery systems is just the start
#energy #materials - Identifying new materials combinations using AI has been radically speeding the development of battery technolog, but it can and should be used for more, particularly energy management and analytics. These applications need better, curated, cross-border data sources, according to the International Energy Agency. (ESI Africa)
SA low cost airline Safair implements AI to speed booking
#SouthAfrica #transport - Starting with the deployment UiPath tech to make bookings quicker (complicated ones going from 30 mins to five), South African airline FlySafair is embracing AI to improve operations. Moving forward, it is looking to implement more AI tech in back office automation applications. (IT News Africa)
Data Centres
ST Digital builds Tier III data centre in Cote d’Ivoire
#IvoryCoast #datacentres - ST Digital has begun constructing a 4,000 sqm Tier III data centre in Grand-Bassam, featuring modular colocation spaces and AI-designed infrastructure. The facility will be operational by Q1 2025, enhancing regional cloud and connectivity services. (Data Centre Dynamics)