(4 minutes read)
- To tap the ever expanding horizon of AI, there is the need for grooming up local talents and skills. IBM is pitching in to plug the skill gap in Africa
- Its two research labs in Kenya and South Africa have been striving to advance AI expertise in the continent
- The multinational IT behemoth has been there in Africa over decades
Countries are relying more on artificial intelligence and Africa is no exception to that.AI has multiple and expanding uses. From agriculture and remote health services to translating languages, AI can play an important role in helping Africa tackle economic problems.
To tap the ever expanding horizon of AI, there is the need for grooming up local talents and skills. IBM is pitching in to plug the skill gap in Africa. Its two research labs in Kenya and South Africa have been striving to advance AI expertise in the continent. The multinational IT behemoth has been there in Africa over decades. The upcoming free virtual online AI seminar series on August 18 and 25 is a part of organization’s effort to create more AI talents in the continent and to upgrade the existing skills.
The seminar series will cover emerging AI topics including Neurosymbolic AI, Trustworthy AI and Learning and Reasoning for Language Understanding. Leading AI researchers and professionals from four IBM Research labs in New York, Haifa, Johannesburg and Nairobi will present their work at the seminar.
Importantly, the African machine learning community has been steadily growing. In 2013, a local group of industry practitioners and researchers began Data Science Africa, an annual workshop for sharing resources and ideas. Innovative forms of transcontinental collaborations, such as Deep Learning Indaba (a Zulu word for gathering), formed in 2017, now has chapters in 27 of the continent’s 54 countries. And then there’s Zindi, a platform founded in 2018 that challenges African data scientists to solve Africa’s toughest challenges.
Academic courses and other educational programs dedicated to teaching machine learning have come up in response to increasing demand. And many globally trained African experts in AI are now returning home.
IBM has entered into a 10-year governmental agreement with the South African Department of Trade and Industry, to step up investment in the country’s information and communications technology infrastructure and boost training.
IBM Research Africa course is designed for all academics, students, developers, researchers and AI practitioners. They can to join the conversation on the future of AI and the role of the African computing community in inventing ‘What’s Next for AI’ in Africa.
