As GITEX Africa Digital Summit nears, the world is anxious about how artificial intelligence (AI) could change life in the near future.
AI-powered job automation continues to be something of concern at the time when technology is redefining climate change, manufacturing and healthcare.
However, tech companies and a section of African leaders believe that adoptijng AI in the delivery of services will strengthen the global economic growth.
This comes ahead of the GITEX Africa Digital Summit, a forum where African leaders and private sector leaders are set to converge in Morocco to address digital transformation alliances.
The global tech and start-up summit will take place May 31 to June 2 and will unify more than 500 sector players.
It will explore how technology and connectivity redraw the boundaries of sustainable social-economic development for African government, business and society.
Atleast 250 hosted investors from 34 countries with S$200 billion worth of assets under management will also seek breakthrough technologies and potential African tech scale-up co-investment opportunities.
Experts concerns on GITEX Africa Digital Summit
Lacina Koné, Director General and CEO of Smart Africa said digital technologies offer new avenues for economic growth in Africa.
In addition, they accelerate job creation and talent development, supporting access to public services and increasing productivity and innovation.
However, challenges remain, “Lack of connectivity in remote and rural regions along with insufficient data protection and high cost of African connectivity,” said Koné Friday in a statement.
In addition, Koné will observe how Africa’s leaders are building a secure, resilient and sustainable digital future.
Moreover, the summit themed ‘Uniting Towards One African Market will raise concerns on global regulations on AI to quickly respond to market developments.
This will facilitate entry of new competitors for the benefit of consumers in the African continent.
Despite the push for implementation of AI in Africa and the world, 1,000 experts warned of potential risks saying the race to develop AI systems is out of control.
Analysts now predict that the tech market is on track to scale from $115 billion to $712 billion by 2050.
Furthermore, according to Briter Bridges, African start-ups raised a total of US$5.4 billion across 900+ deals in 2022.
The 2022 edition of the annual Government AI Readiness Index ranked Kenya fifth in Africa on the government’s readiness to adopt AI in the delivery of services to the public.
The survey by Oxford Insights shows Kenya’s overall score of 40.36 percent placing it behind Egypt, South Africa, Tunisia and Morocco.