"Asia and Africa today" № 10 2020
| Title |
STATES OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA ON THE WAY TO THE CREATION OF THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: THE MYTH OR THE REALITY? |
| DOI |
10.31857/S032150750011108-0 |
| Аuthor | Konstantin A. PANTSEREV Dr.Sс. (Political Science), Professor, Saint-Petersburg State University (pantserev@ yandex.ru) |
| Abstract: | There has been undertaken the analysis of the contemporary level of the development of the artificial intelligence (AI) in the states of Sub-Saharan Africa in the article. Basing on the analyses of the existing initiatives in the field of the development of AI-technologies in African countries the author describes the most perspective areas of the use of AI in Africa: in agriculture, education, health service and the work of different governmental bodies. Then he determines key problems and obstacles which impede the rapid development of advanced technologies. Among those problems the author highlights the necessity of the increase of basic computer skills of ordinary Africans, the poor development of the ICT infrastructure in Africa with very weak penetration deep into the Continent and the insufficient number of datacenters in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa. Finally the author comes to the conclusion that development of AI-based technologies in African countries strictly depends on the adoption of national AI-strategies by the vast majority of African countries. Nowadays only Kenya has created a taskforce which mission is to elaborate the appropriate national strategy of the further development of the artificial intelligence in the country. But it seems extremely important for every African country to develop its own roadmap of the implementation of the advanced technologies which would be based on the demands of local citizenry and national priorities. Only in that case it would become possible to create favorable conditions for the progressive development of AI-technologies in sub-Saharan Africa and, ultimately, ensure the creation of a high-tech ecosystem in the region. |
| Keywords: | States of Sub-Saharan Africa, Information Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Technological Sovereignty, Information Security, Innovations |
| Pages | 29-33 |
