Free access to quality learning
It is predicted that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will contribute almost 16 trillion US Dollars to the global economy by 2030. To ensure Africa receives its fair share, a free Machine Learning conference was held in Lausanne, Switzerland at the beginning of September to set the virtual ball rolling.
The more Africa can learn, grasp and be inspired by AI, the more existing and new projects will leverage data to create social, economic and cultural value on the continent. It is with the same ambitious vision that Applied Machine Learning Days (AMLD), Africa’s second edition, will present AI through an African Lens in November at the prestigious Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Morocco.
This three-day conference will offer inspiring talks and instructive workshops. Speakers will have an opportunity to inspire African talents, teach those who would like to improve their technical skills and strengthen the African Data Science community. This AMLD African conference will embody its motto -Democratising Machine Learning in Africa.
The First Edition
For their first edition, AMLD Africa presented a truly comprehensive platform which included academics from Stanford, the University of the Western Cape and EPFL Biophysics, corporates such as IBM and Google, global entrepreneurs and the Assistant Director of the UNESCO.
Three thousand (3000) participants from across the continent from 50 African countries were able to contemplate a true picture of AI, a picture where every entity was able to add its colour to make the whole as accurate as possible. If you too are a motivated and passionate AI enthusiast, you can embellish this year’s painting by clicking (https://bit.ly/3R60MKl) to apply for a talk or a workshop.
When asked on how to retain talent in the African continent, Moustapha Cisse, Head of Google’s AI Centre in Accra, Ghana, said it is a matter of identifying important problems and having the opportunity and tools to solve them. “Furthermore, the increase of start-ups creates a dynamic and go-ahead environment for machine learning engineers and researches. If we manage to create such an ecosystem, we will be able to bring change, through solving long lasting problems,” he said.
A Cross-Industry Approach
AMLD Africa not only includes both entities and individuals, but also has a cross-industry approach. Since AI is impacting every sector from finance, national security, healthcare, etc. of private and public life, the talks were presented within tracks: Healthcare, agriculture and even entertainment as examples. Whether it is “Detecting cervical cancer with a smartphone-based solution”, “Measuring and optimising agricultural production using aerial imagery” or even music generated by AI (that you can listen to in the video on https://bit.ly/3CKT4AQ). The talks dealt with actual challenges and conveyed the idea that technology is not a goal itself, but rather a tool for the minds and sometimes the ears.
The Opportunities in the Challenges
AI has many ethical, social and economic challenges, but these challenges come with an undeniable opportunity to leapfrog the technological infrastructure associated with the Third Industrial Revolution. It is only when the young, motivated and passionate talents are given easy access to technology that more initiatives will leverage data and that AI could benefit daily life.
To find out more, contact Mohamed Ali Dhraief on communication@mlafrica.org
