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AI data is the new gold rush

AI data is the new gold rush

By Audrey Chanakira
Lead iOS Developer/ AR and VR Mobile Apps at Green Enterprise Solutions.

New technologies are disrupting existing industries, a prime example of one of these technologies is Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Having recently attended The Southern Africa Sub-Regional Forum that was hosted in Windhoek, has inspired me to spread the word on this topic. The Forum mainly discussed AI within the Sub Regional and Namibian context.

We cannot sit back and wait to see how the rest of the world embraces AI. We as southern Africa, and Namibia, need to be at the forefront and leverage AI for our benefit as a nation and our people.

But what is Artificial Intelligence? AI is the ability of a computer to think and learn. With AI, computers can perform tasks that are typically done by people, including processing language, problem-solving, and in turn learning. Computers become better at the tasks that they do through learning, much like humans. AI allows organizations to make better decisions, improving core business processes by increasing both the speed and accuracy of strategic decision-making processes.

To simplify it, AI gives a computer certain data that we want it to learn. The computer learns that data so well that in the end, the output given by the computer helps us to make a more informed decision within a given context. This is all very well, but how does this benefit Namibia and Africa? Everything is based on data these days; all you are doing to feed the AI machines is inputting data.

Data has therefore become more valuable than gold and you can honestly say the new gold rush is the ‘data rush.’ To benefit, locally and across the continent, we need to educate and develop our expertise in these fields.

We need to start developing the skills to implement AI in our different sectors. Within the health, agriculture, financial, and manufacturing sector. If we look at the health sector the technology can be leveraged to properly diagnose our people based on local factors that are Namibia-specific. Instead of purchasing an off-the-shelf system from abroad and trying to integrate it into our Namibian health systems.

AI technology allows us to use our data to learn and give accurate data as feedback. In simple terms, software developed overseas will be based on their data, environment, culture, and user behaviours. Ignoring each country’s specifics and data.

Owning our data is essential, Facebook, Google, and many others have created billion-dollar companies based on owning and exploiting data. We must have and own our data. The mining of data is like the mining for gold, extremely lucrative and with data, there are terabytes of the stuff being added and created daily.

We cannot create another local Facebook or Google, but we can develop our apps and programs that generate data through its users. AI isn’t a trend, it is a tool that is being used to transform technology, and countries and change life.

If we wonder if we can create our apps, we just need to look toward China. They do not use WhatsApp or Amazon. They created their versions in the form of WeChat and Ali Baba. AI can and will benefit us, we just need to know how to best harness the technology and implement it. I for one want to be right in the middle of this AI revolution.


 

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A Guest Contributor is any of a number of experts who contribute articles and columns under their own respective names. They are regarded as authorities in their disciplines, and their work is usually published with limited editing only. They may also contribute to other publications. - Ed.