Intel and AfDB Bring AI Training to Millions of Africans
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and technology giant Intel have joined forces to provide advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to 3 million Africans and 30,000 government officials.
According to a statement on the Bank’s website, the goal of this collaboration is to revolutionize Africa’s digital ecosystem.
Driving digital innovation in Africa
The plan aims to equip many Africans with cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and data science, which are critical to boosting economic growth and productivity across Africa.
The goal of the partnership is to train Africans in AI so the continent can play a more active role in technology development and contribute to ongoing innovation.
This training program is expected to have a positive impact on various fields such as agriculture, health, and education. Addressing socioeconomic challenges and improving productivity can help promote sustainable development and improve the overall quality of life in Africa.
Bienvenu Agbokponto Soglo, Intel’s Director of Government Affairs for Africa and Chief Technology Officer of International Government Affairs, expressed Intel’s enthusiasm for the partnership. Soglo said Intel wants to work with African governments to help people participate in the digital economy by making cutting-edge technologies like AI accessible to everyone, regardless of location, gender or ethnicity.
According to the statement, the partnership goes beyond individual training. It will also help African countries, regional groups and continental organizations develop consistent policies and rules for digital technologies such as AI, 5G and cloud computing, creating an integrated approach to digital transformation across Africa.
Africa and AI
While African countries are currently struggling to catch up in the AI space, Nigeria has recently made significant progress by launching its first multilingual large language model with the goal of leading AI development across the continent.
Related: Apple powers Siri and iOS with ‘Apple Intelligence’ and OpenAI.
Despite these efforts, Nigeria, like many other African countries, faces a significant talent gap in building AI technologies comparable to the capabilities of tech giants such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta.
Moreover, the high cost of training AI models poses a significant barrier to many individuals and organizations outside of the technology industry, impeding their ability to participate in the AI revolution.
Citing OpenAI as an example, the company’s CEO Sam Altman cited GPT-4’s high training costs and sought to raise up to $7 trillion for the project, which would address the massive global shortage of semiconductor chips.
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