A TECHNOLOGY expert yesterday said the continent should use artificial intelligence (AI) which offers opportunities to advance and reduce operating expenses.
The development comes as the world is fast embracing the new technology, with Mauritius, Egypt and South Africa emerging as the top three African countries to embrace AI at an inconceivable pace over the last four to five years.
AI is a branch of computer science that focuses on creating systems and technologies capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence.
Speaking at the ongoing Ideas Festival conference in Nyanga yesterday, Sierra Leone AI expert Terrene Okeke Taylor, who is the executive chair of the African Academy of Artificial Intelligence, said Africa will lose out on chances that will enable it to advance if it does not adopt the technology.
“This technology that I am sharing with you is something that can help our continent to leap forward. The technology allows you to do things that you would normally hire a lot of people to do if you don’t have the money to hire them,” he said.
“The power of this particular technology is that in the investment community, they talk about something called Unicorns.
“These are companies that are startups or relatively young companies, but have already achieved a valuation of US$1 billion. It is a big number, you have to study. So, they are worth one billion dollars, according to the investors.”
Taylor called on Zimbabwe and other African nations to embrace AI as an enhancement tool rather than a threat that can help Africa to leap forward in national development.
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“Africa can leapfrog through technology, specifically AI. I believe technology always allows us to leap forward. We have done it before in things like communication.
“We had to go through putting landlines in every home, but now we have cell phones in every pocket. So, I believe technology always allows us to leap forward,” he said.
“Another thing that you have to understand is that AI will not replace humans, but those who know AI will replace you. Someone who knows AI and uses AI is going to replace you.
“If you are afraid that AI is going to replace you, you are looking at the wrong thing. Look at who else is learning AI and how to use it because that is the person who is most likely going to replace you.”
He said technology will not replace humans in businesses and that if the continent does not accept it, it will fall behind.
“There are scenarios in which if we don’t embrace the technology, if we stick with the fear that it is going to replace us and we don’t touch it, we will get left behind. Let me just say that.
“And these are words that are not mine, but they resonate with me. AI is not going to replace you. Someone who knows AI and uses AI is going to replace you. Let me say that again. If you are afraid that AI is going to replace you, you are looking at the wrong thing,” Taylor said.
“But if you are willing to embrace it and learn it, then it can augment you, it can amplify you. And if we, collectively, as Africans, are willing to use it and embrace it, it can help us to leapfrog.
“The power of this particular technology is that in the investment community, they talk about something called unicorns.”
The festival is a follow-up to the Ideas Festival luncheon held in December 2022, where Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) chairman Trevor Ncube announced his intentions to create an immersive platform where innovative entrepreneurial ideas could be exchanged to shape the economy.
AMH launched In Conversations with Trevor in 2019, an in-depth interview-style show in which Ncube sits down with various high-profile guests in a series of candid, hard-hitting conversations.
AMH are the publishers of two weeklies, Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard and the daily, NewsDay as well as online broadcasting company Heart & Soul.
