Technology is moving at the Speed of Thought with AI (Artificial Intelligence), VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Realty) and the development of STEAM+M Education and Learning.
The recent AI Literacy Day 2024 April 19th 2024 was celebrated by a panel discussion lead by Victor Ogunbiyi of DAWN AI Study who leads educational, business and data analysis experts in an important conversation about the development of AI across Africa and the growing influence of everyday life in Africa.
Africans must adapt their thinking beyond impressions and limitations! Moving at the Speed of Thought is an adjustment to thinking forward and not looking backwards but applying technology to propel Africa in the future. Moving at the Speed of Thought is modifying thinking to be strategic in the application of AI technology in academia, business and building African entrepreneurs.
Moving at the Speed of Thought means understanding the Power of Africa is in her creativity and innovation that is being shared with the world. Africa continues to be a global influencer.
Africa is the youngest continent of all 7 continents as I have stated in previous writings, because of this Africa has the Energy of youth to be self-sustaining, Africa has the Endurance of youth to continue to move in directions of wealth, influence and self-investments over long periods of time, Africa has the Creativity of youth.
Africa has the Innovation of youthful thinking to work with Mother Africa and be creative with what the land and environment has to offer. Africa has the Ability to heal herself during times of climatic changes and adaptions of ecosystems.
There is a lot that can be stated and more that can be done to build Africa into a unified and cooperative continent of equality for girls and boys, men, and women. Technology is the great equalizer and sustainer. AI Literacy Day 2024 https://www.ailiteracyday.org/ shows that Africa is increasingly embracing AI technologies to foster innovation and development across various sectors. Here are facts highlighting Africa's strides in AI integration, implementation, discovery and allowing AI technologies to expand the visions outside of colonial impressions and foreign influences. Consider these stats that are leading to accelerating change across Africa and into the future from Meta-Shapers (metashapers.com)
There are 4.95 billion internet users in the world as of 2023, the growing use of Smartphone technologies are allowing Africans to grow in the access of information and business / entrepreneurial development contributing to the users of the internet. There are 7.33 billion mobile phone users in the world and the biggest users are Africans. Predicted expectations that there will be 38.6 billion Internet of Things (IoT-connected devices) like Smartphones, Smartwatches, Alexa type devices and interactive connections with higher order and crtical thinking machines around the world by 2025 and 50 billion by 2030. According to the ITU's "Facts and Figures 2023" report, 40% of the African population had internet access in 2023, and by 2030 this will increase by 15% if African governments improve digital infrastructures and access points.
There are 1.35 million tech startups in the world and a growing number are Africans using the internet and applying AI technologies. Data trackers set the amount raised by African startups in 2023 at between $2.9 billion and $4.1 billion. Technology is increasing so fast because each technological innovation creates many more possibilities and typically drives down the costs of technology for Africans to purchase and apply to their strategic use.
Growing AI Ecosystems are being developed across Africa has seen a significant rise in the development of its own AI ecosystem. Countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt, have an emergence of startups, research institutions, and initiatives focused on AI development that benefits the nations and people across business and education.
There must be a link with education and business as was stated by William Jackson, CEO of MetaverseWP who has been building Metaverse Opportunities in Uganda, Nigeria, and Kenya since 2022 https://metaversewp.com/destination
“AI for the Social Good of Africans is direction African nations are leveraging AI to address pressing social challenges, such as healthcare, agriculture, education, and financial inclusion,”
stated by Adeola Adeshina (Brain Champ Technologies). AI-powered healthcare solutions are being used to improve disease surveillance and treatments, environmental protections, and proactive solutions to protect people and patient care in remote areas.
Investment in AI Research and Development has grown with governments, private sector entities, and international organizations investing in AI research and development across the continent. Stated by Toyosi Igbinovia (TSR Learning), “there is an increase in funding initiatives, hackathons, and competitions that are supporting the growth of AI talent and innovation.” AI in Agriculture has taken a significant stance in agriculture is a vital sector for many African economies. Farmers are not just “farming” they are managing data streams of crop development. Utilizing AI technologies to create disease and drought resistant crops to cope with the changing environmental conditions. AI technologies utilizing machine learning and remote sensing, are being deployed to enhance crop yield prediction, soil analysis, pest detection, and farm management practices, thereby increasing agricultural productivity and food security. These are celebrations that have taken place over the recent years, so agriculture has an opportunity to grow and not die by the changes in climate, diseases, drought, and other environmental fluctuations.
AI-driven Financial Services are seeing phenomenal growth in Africa with AI playing a pivotal role in driving innovation in financial services. To provide platforms with Blockchain technologies, NFT’s as investments and applying AI-powered algorithms used for credit scoring, fraud detection, personalized banking services, and risk management, making financial services more accessible and efficient. These are the infrastructures needed to empower African people to be business owners that are successful and able to hire Africans and keep investment dollars within Africa.
AI Education and Skills Development is recognizing the importance of AI in the future economy, African governments and educational institutions are prioritizing AI education and skills development. Toheeb Adeniyi (ICT Teacher) states that “initiatives such as coding boot camps, AI academies, and partnerships with tech companies are equipping students and professionals with the necessary skills to thrive in the AI-driven world. Not relying on NGO’s or Not for Profit Organizations of other nations to provide educational resources that many times do not meet the needs of African communities or raising education to international levels of success and achievement. “
These facts and data analysis illustrate Africa's commitment to leveraging AI technologies as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and positioning itself as a leader in the global AI landscape. Through collaboration, investment, and innovation, Africa is harnessing the power of AI to address its unique challenges and unlock new opportunities for growth and prosperity.
The AI Literacy Day 2024 https://www.ailiteracyday.org/ has shown how forward moving Africa is going and more needs to be done to continue to take Africa in a future of growth, unity, open collaboration, and beneficial cooperation for business and educational development across the African continent.
William Jackson CEO of MetaverseWP https://metaversewp.com/destination states, “as we enter a new era, and into new ecosystems driven by advancements in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, space exploration, and more, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the coming years for Africa.”
In the Educational Ecosystems of Africa, the illiterate of technologies will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
According to World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023, 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted within the next five years from the integration of technologies, in 2023, ChatGPT. opened the world’s eyes to the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), even though the technology was started in 1966. Today leading to 24 billion+ visits to mainly new AI tools. This is just the tip of the spear, and 2024 / 2025 will undoubtedly see accelerating development and interest. Organizations will be under pressure to engage with concepts such as generative AI, large language models, small language models, general world models, artificial general intelligence (AGI), and more advanced tools such as Gemini, ChatGPT 5.0, Qstar, and Google Gemini.
We are definitely moving forward at the Speed of Thought and Africa should be a leader.