Nigeria’s tech enthusiasts defied the torrential rainfall to attend the inaugural Technovate Fest 2024, themed “AI for Africa: Addressing Continental Challenges, Driving Sustainable Innovations,” which was held in Lagos last Thursday.
Dr Pelumi Apantaku, managing director of Techpression Media Ltd, who delivered the welcome address, emphasised the critical role of AI in modern life and its potential to reshape the African narrative.
“The reason artificial intelligence is key is that interest in it is growing worldwide, and we are only at the beginning stages of unlocking its potential,” the Techpression boss stated. “Like the internet, AI has become a pervasive technology that will influence all aspects of our lives.”
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Dr Apantaku reaffirmed Techpression’s commitment to ensure that Africa’s stories regarding AI innovations were properly reported.
“We have always been at the forefront of reporting on artificial intelligence and telling African stories, which is key for our company,” he stated.
Kashifu Inuwa, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), echoed similar sentiments, adding that AI has an “immense potential” to solve Africa’s socio-economic challenges.
“AI is redefining industries at an unprecedented pace. In healthcare, agriculture, and beyond, the technology has immense potential to solve problems that have long plagued our continent,” said the NITDA DG who was represented by Jumoke Alaka, the agency’s South West Zonal manager.
“For Nigeria and Africa, the challenge is not just to adopt AI but to strategically integrate it into our systems, turning constraints into opportunities,” she added.
Advocating for Inclusive AI Development
Ade Oyeyipo, founding partner of Lightworld Media House, addressed the theme “Inclusive Innovation: Bridging the Gap for Persons with Disabilities in Africa’s AI-driven transformation”
He stressed the need for datasets that accurately represent African realities and the importance of inclusivity in AI development, stating, “Inclusion is paying attention to everybody’s needs.”
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“Inclusion in our everyday lives is what we need to imbibe in our organisations, businesses and institutions,” he explained.
Mr Oyeyipo bemoaned the dearth of sufficient data that is tailored to the African people, especially those of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).
“Machine learning can perform deep learning through the dataset that is provided,” he said.
He said it was already terrible that there were no images or films depicting Nigerian sign languages or the portrayal of Africa online, and that he’s had several instances where Meta AI could not provide the accurate depiction of the African material he was seeking.
He acknowledged the necessity for a dataset that reflects PLWD and African realities.
According to Mr Oyeyipo, AI had scant information about the African continent because it had not yet been exposed to African content.