Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming our world. From the race to create Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), to advances in Medicine and Robotics, AI is currently hot business.

For Africa, AI presents a unique opportunity to accelerate economic growth and bridge the development gap that exists between rich western countries and most African countries, who are still struggling with poverty. Instead of following traditional, incremental paths, AI can enable African nations to leapfrog stages of development, driving progress across key sectors and empowering a new generation of Africans.

Unlocking Africa’s Potential with AI:

AI’s potential impact on Africa is vast and multifaceted:

• Boosting Agriculture: Imagine AI-powered drones analysing crop health, predicting weather patterns, and optimising irrigation. These tools can empower farmers to increase yields, improve food security, and build more resilient agricultural ecosystems. It can also help farmers find new and emerging solutions to age-old problems.
• Transforming Healthcare: Limited resources and vast distances often hinder access to quality healthcare in Africa. For example, looking at the DRC alone, the vast distances make provision of healthcare a monumental challenge. AI can help bridge this gap through telemedicine platforms, AI-powered drones, AI-driven diagnostics for faster and more accurate disease detection, and smart health record systems. These technologies can truly transform the delivery of healthcare across Africa.
• Transforming Education: AI can personalise learning experiences, adapting to individual student needs and providing customized support, beyond what’s taught in the classroom. This can improve educational outcomes, particularly in under-served communities, and prepare a workforce equipped for the digital age.
• Driving Financial Inclusion: Many Africans lack access to traditional banking services. AI can facilitate financial inclusion by enabling mobile banking, personalised loan options through machine learning, and fraud detection systems, fostering economic empowerment. AI can also help digitise unconventional assets that are often disregarded when, for example determining net worth.
• Strengthening Governance: AI can play a crucial role in improving governance by analysing data to inform policy decisions, detecting corruption in financial management systems, and increasing transparency in public services, ultimately building more accountable and effective institutions.
• Creating New Opportunities: While some worry about job displacement, AI is also creating new jobs in areas like AI development, data science, analytics, and AI-related services. Investing in AI education and skills development will begin to equip young Africans to seize these opportunities. Or to create opportunities for themselves in this domain.

How to Get Started with AI:

Free Educational Resources that are available online

The good news is that numerous free online courses and educational resources on AI exist and are would make it possible for anyone to begin exploring the world of AI, and learning about the various technologies, various languages and software. All they need is a smartphone, or preferably a laptop/computer, and a reliable access to the internet(although there are also resources available that one can download and use to study offline):

1. Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) by IBM: This Coursera course provides a solid foundation in AI and machine learning concepts.
2. Machine Learning Crash Course by Google: A practical, fast-paced introduction to machine learning through Google’s AI education platform.
3. AI For Everyone by Andrew Ng: Designed for non-technical audiences, this Coursera course explores the impact of AI on business and society.
4. Elements of AI: Developed by the University of Helsinki and Reaktor, this introductory course demystifies AI and its applications.
5. Introduction to TensorFlow for AI, ML, and Deep Learning by DeepLearning.AI: Learn to use TensorFlow, Google’s open-source machine learning (ML) platform.
6. Python for Data Science, AI & Development by IBM: This Coursera course teaches Python, a crucial programming language for AI development.
7. Neural Networks and Deep Learning by deeplearning.ai: Part of the Deep Learning Specialization, this course dives into the fundamentals of neural networks.
8. AI Foundations for Business by LinkedIn Learning: Explore how AI can be applied in a business context.
9. Machine Learning with Python by freeCodeCamp: A comprehensive, free tutorial on machine learning using Python.
10. Introduction to Deep Learning by MIT: Offered on edX, this course provides a rigorous introduction to deep learning techniques.

These resources provide an introduction to and in-depth education on AI and Machine Learning. By taking time to obtain such education, Africans will be investing the next generation of AI talent. Such a move has the potential not just to catch up, but to lead the way in developing innovative solutions for local and global challenges, as recent AI tools from China have shown. As a minimum, it prevents us being left behind when what is being considered as the next Tech wave in modern history takes off. These free educational resources offer a starting point for young Africans to become part of this exciting transformation.