Intel and African Development Bank Unite to Train 3 Million Africans in AI
Summary:
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and tech giant Intel have entered into a partnership to provide artificial intelligence (AI) training to 3 million Africans and 30,000 government officials. This venture aims to boost Africa's digital transformation by equipping individuals with Fourth Industrial Revolution skills. It also seeks to benefit various sectors, including agriculture, health, and education. The initiative goes beyond individual training, helping African countries develop consistent digital policies. Despite challenges, Africa continues to make progress in the AI field, with Nigeria launching its first Multilingual Large Language Model.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has teamed up with tech titan Intel to provide advanced artificial intelligence (AI) training to 3 million Africans and 30,000 government officials. Unveiled during the AfDB Annual Meetings in Nairobi, Kenya, the partnership as per the AfDB's official announcement, seeks to revolutionize Africa's digital landscape.
The initiative is aimed at imparting Africans with critical skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), including expertise in AI, robotics, and data science that are vital for promoting economic expansion and productivity across the continent.
The collaboration's objective is to train Africans in AI, allowing them to hone skills in this revolutionary space. Consequently, this empowers individuals to play an instrumental role in the 4IR era, fuelling innovation and problem resolution.
The educational program is anticipated to benefit various sectors such as agriculture, health, and education. By alleviating socio-economic hardships and enhancing productivity, it carries the potential to facilitate sustainable development and improve the overall quality of life in Africa.
Bienvenu Agbokponto Soglo, Intel’s Director of Government Affairs Africa and IGA's chief technology officer liaison, voiced Intel's eagerness for the partnership. He indicated that Intel is eager to collaborate with African governments to render advanced technologies like AI universally accessible, overlooking factors like location, gender or ethnicity and enable people to be a part of the digital economy.
The partnership, as per the statement, does not solely focus on individual training. It goes a step further to assist African nations, regional collectives, and continental organizations in establishing coherent policies and norms for digital technologies like AI, 5G, and cloud computing, fostering a uniform approach to digital transformation throughout Africa.
In terms of AI, Africa continues to strive to bridge the gap. In a recent breakthrough, Nigeria unveiled its first Multilingual Large Language Model (LLM), marking a considerable stride towards leading AI evolution on the continent.
Despite this, Nigeria, along with numerous African countries, is grappling with a severe talent deficiency in creating AI technology that can rival that of tech moguls like OpenAI, Google, and Meta. The significant investments required for AI model training pose a significant obstacle for many, both individuals and organizations outside the tech world, thereby curtailing their participation in the AI revolution.
As a case in point, OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman discussed the steep costs needed for GPT-4 training and revealed plans to raise up to $7 trillion for a project aimed to address the global deficit in semiconductor chips.
Published At
6/9/2024 1:30:32 PM
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