The Southern Africa Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference (SATNAC) concluded its 26th edition with a call to harness artificial intelligence (AI) to drive inclusive growth across the continent.
The conference, the largest telecommunications forum in Southern Africa, also discussed the need for AI-powered solutions to improve access to healthcare, education and financial services.
“Adoption of AI application can already be seen across multiple industries, including agriculture, health, manufacturing and logistics, but if we need this to scale in Africa, industries, academia and government must work together to create AI development hubs … to create the appropriate AI ecosystem,” Pushkar Gokhale, the chief digital and strategy officer at Openserve, told the Mail & Guardian on the sidelines of the conference.
Gokhale also emphasized the need for a strong policy framework. Experts warned against the blind adoption of AI as transformative technology, saying there was a need for dialogue on its potential effect on humans.
