How Infrastructure, Education can Boost Africa’s Adoption of AI, Development – Chinasa T. Okolo

Tell me a bit about yourself.

I don’t think a lot of people know exactly where I’m from in Nigeria. My parents are from Anambra State. I am from Abatete town, in the State. Another thing people may not know is that I have a twin brother. But, we’re not in the same professional field. Also, I started college when I was in high school. So, for my last two years of high school in the U.S., I was on a college campus.

How can AI adoption promote development in Nigeria, Africa, particularly in critical sectors such as health, education and agriculture?

Honestly. I think the adoption of AI in many of these fields is a bit early. But it will have a kind of a ricochet effect because people’s interest in adopting these respective technologies will necessitate or push them to actually focus on the basic development questions. For instance, it’ll be hard to use AI in healthcare settings if there are not enough clinics or hospitals, or even medical professionals who have to operate these tools for patients.

That’s why, even though I have some concerns about AI, I’m very positive about the respective impacts it could have, particularly in healthcare and other critical areas like agriculture. Although the African continent does have a relatively good number of farmers, I think the issue is having these farmers understand better how to maximize and optimize their respective crop yields. Also, distribution is a major problem, plus farmers suffer loss when their crops go bad due to logistics and storage issues. I think AI definitely has a big role to play in helping ease some of these challenges and improving the economy generally, like curbing the current high food inflation in Nigeria. So, I’m eager to see more innovation in that area (agriculture), and also in education, definitely.

I think it (AI) could help close some gaps that we’re seeing in the education sector, especially in teaching and students’ access. But again, we still have to ensure that if we’re trying to leverage AI in these areas, students, for example, can have access to phones, not necessarily smartphones, but phones that have access to digital telecommunications, so they can still be able to access these new technologies. There are so many challenges in terms of maximizing the full potential of AI in Nigeria and across Africa because we still don’t have sufficient infrastructure. But there are also many opportunities.

When you talk about infrastructure, that will include electricity?

Yes, it includes electricity and telecommunications infrastructure. Also, I consider humans to be a part of infrastructure, because we have to have skilled talent that are able to build and develop these novel AI solutions, especially people that are local to the African context, understand the needs of Africans and are not being driven by Western corporations or outside entities.

Having contributed to Nigeria’s National AI Strategy draft, how do you think local innovators and researchers can contribute more to developing AI that can solve local problems?

Obviously, many Nigerians and Africans experience these issues on a daily basis. So, I think the biggest thing is just understanding what the problems are in these local communities, figuring it out, and doing extensive research to understand how best AI can solve these issues.

A lot of times, people are trying to apply AI to every little thing, but it actually may not necessarily be the best solution. I think it’s best to take a critical approach to developing AI and also figuring out what’s most needed. For example, some African researchers are now focused on leveraging AI for natural language processing and language preservation. This will help these machines or systems learn more about indigenous African languages that are not represented in many of these major systems, like ChatGPT, for example. This is very important because, in Nigeria, some of the languages spoken in the South-South don’t necessarily have high adoption and could be at risk of dying out per se. So, I think it’s important to focus on these efforts and also think about how AI can help with cultural preservation as a whole.

For many decades, Africa has lagged behind in terms of technology. How do you think the continent can bridge this gap so that it’s not left behind in terms of AI adoption?

Again, pointing to some of the things I said earlier: investing in the fundamental facets that will allow greater adoption and development of AI solutions. For the Nigerian government and other African governments to be successful in this regard, focusing on education, expanding access to education is important. Countries like China and the United States have a strong education system, including postgraduate education system that allows people to pursue master’s and PhD degrees in AI. In my opinion, tertiary education is where most of the major fundamental breakthroughs in AI happen.

We have to reform education in Nigeria to enable this greater access to research opportunities and advanced degrees, so our students don’t necessarily have to go abroad to study. Also, it is important that government collaborate with the private sector to improve technical capacity and ensure that they have the requisite expertise needed to develop and implement these solutions. For example, the US has a very robust private sector that allows them to help fill in some of these gaps.

You already mentioned this briefly, what’s your view about the ethics question in the adoption of AI?

In general, ethics is a very interesting subject when it comes to AI adoption because there are so many different facets that come into play. In Nigeria, specifically, I think, the ethical part will be in terms of how these tools are used, especially in very political circumstances where we know that, in many cases, some journalists have been ostracized or targeted by government authorities/officials.  So, it is to ensure that these AI tools are not being used in these negative ways.

A lot of research on the responsibility or ethics in AI have focused around Western concepts like race. In the Nigerian context, race is not the biggest priority because most Nigerians are “black.” We have to think about how the deployment of AI can affect other aspects of identity like tribe, which obviously plays a big role in Nigeria, as well as religion and gender; as well as the intersection of these identities, to ensure that women and children are not being marginalized. Also, it is important that people from marginalized or smaller tribes are also included in AI development and usage.

AI has also brought about the rise of deep fakes, misinformation and disinformation. How do you think it can be used effectively to tackle these issues?

This is a bit of a tough question because we’re seeing how AI is enabling disinformation and misinformation on a very large scale. I have a recent paper that examines some of this. But there are some tools that could be useful because many of the fact-checking organizations that operate within Nigeria and across Africa are actively searching for ways where AI could be useful. For example, an automated fact-checking. An organisation like Africa Fact Check, if I’m correct, is deploying tools, such as a WhatsApp bot, where people can send or forward information and have that fact-checked. So, this could be very helpful because on platforms like WhatsApp, it’s hard to stop or slow the spread of misinformation because it’s encrypted. Other areas like content moderation are also leveraging AI to help with this automated detection.

However, there are many challenges because many of these systems don’t have the nuances on smaller African languages. So, a lot of times, this disinformation and misinformation may continue to spread because these systems incorrectly identify the topics that spread through this content. Again, there are many opportunities, but we still have to fill in the gaps to train AI systems that are sufficient enough to help slow this down.

How can Nigeria and other African countries effectively develop a framework for the adoption of AI technologies, and ensure that it actually benefits the people?

This response will mimic some of the answers I’ve given previously. More importantly, African governments have to focus on upskilling their respective population to ensure that they’re literate enough and able to understand the implications of AI systems and develop it.

In terms of infrastructure, the Nigerian government is making significant strides, although I think there’s still a lot more to do. But again, there is need to have the basic infrastructure, even if it’s not just for AI. For example, the infrastructure has to be there so people can access digital technologies. Having access to AI technologies can potentially help increase the benefits to people generally, because it will help them gain greater access to opportunities and increase their potential for better livelihoods. So, it is really more about infrastructure, investing in education and upskilling. Also, African governments have to understand how to prioritize AI. They can figure out ways to have AI aligned with their national goals. AI might not necessarily be their (number one) priority, but it could still help advance their respective priorities.

In your view, aside from Nigeria, what other African countries have done more in terms of adopting AI?

I would say Kenya, because it has a robust ecosystem, and many companies rely on Kenya workers for data labelling, which is one of the very fundamental parts of developing AI systems. This also provides an opportunity for more industries to develop, especially in building these AI models themselves, and also providing Kenyans with the opportunity to upskill into engineers, etc.

On the African continent, I think South Africa has the highest concentration of AI startups as well. There is also Rwanda – which is bridging within the AI ecosystem to South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. I had the fortune of attending the first conference on generative AI in Algeria last December. There are many interesting developments happening in this space.

How can our education institutions leverage on AI to drive growth in the country?

There are many opportunities, especially for lesson planning and helping students get personalized tutoring. Many teachers find lesson planning to be a major bottleneck in preparing for their respective lessons because it takes time. In India, Microsoft Research specialised tool has been helping Indian teachers to develop lesson plans easily. A similar thing could be adopted in Nigeria. It also helps to improve the quality of educational curriculum and ensure that it meets both national and global standards. This will then help improve the quality of education.

Additionally, I think we need to integrate more skilled professionals in these respective technologies. It is important that universities leverage their existing IT departments, but also seek out this expertise from local organizations and civil society to help them understand how best to integrate these tools into education and administration. There is also need to implement more education reforms for AI adoption to be successful, especially in terms of ensuring that teachers are adequately paid.

Do you think AI adoption would lead to more losses of jobs globally, particularly in Africa and other nations with high employment rates?

In the U.S. and other developed countries,’ we’ve seen how AI has had the most impact on some of what we consider as white-collar jobs, especially in the creative fields. I expect a similar impact in Nigeria and other African countries. More specifically, because AI is still limited in its respective scope and what it can do. I think it cannot replace physical labour. So, in areas like farming, factory work, and providing physical health care, AI is not going to replace jobs in these fields. But it will definitely help augment the work being done. There’s a big opportunity for African countries, Nigeria in particular, to improve their outputs, especially in areas like agriculture, manufacturing, etc. But again, I don’t think there will be a very big impact on most jobs, aside from white-collar jobs.

What inspired you to pursue a career in computer science and focus on AI?

When I was growing up, I definitely had that pressure from my parents to become a medical doctor. I wasn’t so interested in medicine, especially being a physician. But I always had that interest in understanding how we could improve healthcare or the field of medicine generally. I think this inspired the early research I did when I was an undergraduate. Much of my research was related to medicine, but it still had that computational focus.

I think near the end of my undergraduate schooling, I saw how important AI technologies were becoming in daily life. So, it just made sense to focus on it and understand how to harness the capabilities of AI in medicine, as well as understand some of the issues that impact countries that are not the U.S., Germany or Canada. My PhD work focused on how community healthcare workers in rural India understand and perceive AI and how they would use it in their daily activities in their rural communities. This also had a big impact on my approach to AI governance, focusing on the Global South and African countries.

What should we expect from you in the near future?

Right now, I’m trying to wrap up a project focused on analysing Africa’s progress in AI. I’ve been working with a colleague, at a think-tank organization based in Nairobi, Kenya. We’ve been trying to analyze some of the progress in research development and AI education in Africa. We’re also analyzing some of the recent reports and indices that rank countries progressing in AI globally to understand specifically how African countries rank within these indices. I aim to publish this sometime later this year, hopefully.

I’m sure you’ve spoken a lot about girl education in other forums. How can African governments improve this area and how do you think your work would inspire more young African girls to pursue a career in STEM?

It is important that educators encourage their female students and also provide opportunities for them to excel. Mentorship and access to solid resources to improve and gain internship experiences or real-world experiences in STEM are also important to their general training. Aside from me being a personal inspiration, there are many other mentors available online. Even if you’re not able to reach them directly, I think they can learn from their story by researching their backgrounds and understanding how they got into their respective fields.

Of course, I have a very different story from many Nigerians because I had the fortune of being born here (in the U.S) and having access to American education. This may not necessarily be accessible to a vast majority of Nigerians, but there are many educational opportunities within Nigeria or if they want to pursue schooling abroad. I would say to them, be determined, but also very resourceful and leverage as many opportunities as you can find.

On September 10, the Nigerian government announced a N100 million ($61,000) AI fund to support young startups. What’s your view about this and the country’s recent drive towards AI adoption?  

I think it’s a good start. Obviously, $61,000 is relatively paltry compared to startup funding, especially for AI startups globally. But I think in the Nigerian context, it will provide companies with a good base to expand their efforts within AI and then also figure out ways to gain market share and scale their respective innovations.

I also helped the (Nigerian) government in another research grant programme that they started last year. It’s great to see that these opportunities are increasing in scale and effort. As they continue to increase, we’ll also see more AI innovation. I think the government is on a good path. I was privileged to meet Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy. I was also involved in the country’s recent AI strategy. Also, I’d be very happy to be involved in broader efforts (on AI adoption) and efforts that are specific to Anambra State.

For that young girl somewhere in Nigeria, Kenya, or Rwanda, that does not have those educational opportunities and feels lost in terms due to societal limitations, what would you tell them to inspire them not to give up on their dreams?

I would say, fortunately, there are many role models for people to look up to, and nowadays, people are getting to understand the importance of including women and girls in education, especially in STEM efforts around AI. So, again, I would like to say, don’t be discouraged. There are many opportunities to pursue. You just have to be determined and also work hard to succeed in them.

You were born in the US. Do you still see yourself as Nigerian?

Most definitely. I’ve been fortunate to visit Nigeria. Last time I was there was around 2019 or early 2020. I left a couple of months before the COVID-19 pandemic started. Also, I’ve been to different African countries over the past couple of years, but I haven’t had the chance to come back yet.

What are your hobbies, aside from your love for computers and computations?

I love travelling, and most of my trips happen to coincide with my engagements. I’ve been to 35 countries. I do like to go outside a bit as well. Also, I’m very active on Twitter. So that’s probably one thing you’ll probably see me doing. I also like reading. I think I read 35 books last year.