A Senegalese Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert says a lack of reliable, accessible, and localised data hinders Africa from fully tapping into AI-driven solutions to address the continent's challenges.
The President of the Senegalese Association for AI, Dr. Seydina Ndiaye, who is also a member of the UN High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, said this at a Bank Windhoek discussion on the AI revolution in Africa held in Windhoek.
This is as Africa stands at the crossroads of the AI revolution to drive its economic growth and improve healthcare, education and agriculture as well as to revolutionise industries.
The continent, Dr. Ndiaye says, must shape its own destiny by crafting AI strategies that safeguard its sovereignty, foster innovation and drive inclusive development to fully leverage AI.
However, he says, there is a challenge as Africa is faced with the inability to harness AI due to poor data availability, which AI thrives on largely.
"A lot of data we use on AI is not owned by the Africans. We use solutions coming from outside, and they took their data and did AI solutions. And one of the big problems in Africa is that we don't have the culture of data, and if we want to do AI, we should focus on it. We should, and we should manage the data we produce, and it's a big challenge for the African community. And the main thing is to be more of a producer than a consumer. We used to use applications coming from outside Africa and with AI."
He also noted that there is a need for Africa to proactively regulate AI to protect the continent from being exploited as a testing ground for technologies.
"We could have Africa used as a guinea pig. When scientists combine technology and AI, they need to test it, and if you don't have the right regulations, they can come here and test it here. So it is very important to focus on having this umbrella of this regulation."
He also urged African countries to be part of the African Digital Compact under the AU and UN, which aims to promote responsible AI development and digital transformation.
It will also ensure that developing countries have the necessary infrastructure in place to participate in the digital economy.
"I think policymakers should be more aware of these opportunities to be part of the global discussion on AI if we want to be helped by big tech companies and also to access other opportunities coming with this global inclusion. The global AI fund is there to help countries in Africa to have the opportunity to get funding to do AI, as funding is the main problem for AI in Africa."
The Compact is aligned with the SDGs and is expected to enhance Africa's AI ecosystem by providing funding, policies, and collaboration opportunities.