Ndiho Media,LLC.

By Paul Ndiho
With the advent of cutting-edge digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data, it now has a unique opportunity to transform itself and become more competitive globally.

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The deployment of these advanced technologies has the potential to revolutionize various sectors, including healthcare, education, agriculture, and finance, and drive sustainable development and economic growth across the continent. Analysts believe that by harnessing the power of AI and Big Data, Africa can leapfrog into the future and realize its true potential as a leading player in the global economy.

Dr. Momar Dieng, Dean of the School of Business at the African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda, emphasizes that “the emergence of generative AI tools like Bard, from Google, and ChatGPT from OpenAI, backed by companies like Microsoft, has changed the way we think about AI in many ways.”
He further elaborates that “these tools, especially for young people, are essential to master, as they are going to revolutionize the world and the way we work.” However, there are questions regarding how certain professions will be transformed and, if not endangered, as a result.
To harness the full potential of this technology, there is a need to ensure that we have more content online. One of the challenges for Africa is that it needs to be represented more when it comes to data and to tap into this new technology, we need to get up to speed. We need to work on the policy side to digitize our languages, ensuring they are standardized and represented online or producing more content in literature, arts, and sciences. Dr. Dieng emphasizes that “we need to document and catalog our indigenous knowledge, which can contribute to the global corpus of knowledge that’s going to find its way into these generative models.”
As this technology advances, there will be massive job displacement, and we should be prepared for it. To prepare the youth for high-tech careers in programming and data science, the African Leadership University is working on several programs designed to upskill them.
AI and Big Data can potentially transform Africa and drive large-scale competitiveness. With suitable investment and preparation, African countries can benefit from this technology and become part of the thriving tech industry.