It makes my heart sing to see how quickly technology and innovation are developing. I adore all things technological, and what we are currently witnessing will fundamentally alter both Namibia and the rest of the globe. Artificial intelligence is a prime example of a new technology that is upending established industries (AI).
I was recently encouraged to share the word on this issue after attending the Southern Africa Sub-Regional Forum in Windhoek. The Sub Regional and Namibian contexts were the key discussion points for AI at the Forum. We in Southern Africa and Namibia must be at the forefront and use AI to our advantage as a country and as a people; we cannot simply watch how the rest of the world adopts AI.
How about Artificial Intelligence, though? AI refers to a computer’s capacity for thought and learning. AI enables computers to carry out tasks that are typically performed by people, such as language processing, problem-solving and ultimately learning. Similar to humans, computers also learn to become better at the tasks they perform. By boosting the speed and accuracy of strategic decision-making processes, AI helps firms make better decisions, which enhances key business processes.
To simplify it, AI gives a computer certain data that we want it to learn. The computer learns that data so well that in the end, the output given by the computer helps us to make a more informed decision within a given context. This is all very well, but how does this benefit Namibia and Africa? Everything is based on data these days; all you are doing to feed the AI machines is inputting data. Data has therefore become more valuable than gold and you can honestly say the new gold rush is the ‘data rush.’ To benefit, locally and across the continent, we need to educate and develop our expertise in these fields.
We need to start developing the skills to implement AI in our different sectors. Within the health, agriculture, financial, and manufacturing sector. If we look at the health sector the technology can be leveraged to properly diagnose our people based on local factors that are Namibia-specific. Instead of purchasing an off-the-shelf system from abroad and trying to integrate it into our Namibian health systems. AI technology allows us to use our data to learn and give accurate data as feedback. In simple terms, software developed overseas will be based on their data, environment, culture, and user behaviours. Ignoring each country’s specifics and data.
Owning our data is essential, Facebook, Google, and many others have created billion-dollar companies based on owning and exploiting data. We must have and own our data. The mining of data is like the mining for gold, extremely lucrative and with data, there are terabytes of the stuff being added and created daily.
We cannot create another local Facebook or Google, but we can develop our apps and programs that generate data through its users. AI isn’t a trend, it is a tool that is being used to transform technology, and countries and change live. If we wonder if we can create our apps, we just need to look toward China. They do not use WhatsApp or Amazon. They created their versions in the form of WeChat and Ali Baba. AI can and will benefit us, we just need to know how to best harness the technology and implement it. I for one want to be right in the middle of this AI revolution.
