Artificial Intelligence (AI) is hailed as one of the greatest inventions since the internet. With its rapid global advancement, opening dialogues about its impact and opportunities in Africa has become imperative.
In a recent interview, David Lemayian, a key figure in the “Tech for Good” space, shared his insights on AI and Africa’s position in the international race to harness its power.
Lemayian, founder of Tenery Research and has worked extensively with Code for Africa, explained the fundamental concept of AI.
“Firstly, understanding AI is key to the discussion. A simple explanation is to think of how you use a calculator—you input numbers, and it gives you an answer. That’s the AI we have today. It takes all the knowledge we’ve placed on the internet, and when you ask it a question, or as tech-savvy people say, a ‘prompt,’ it pulls from that knowledge and responds,” he clarified.
He pointed to the most popular AI, ChatGPT, one of the most popular AI models, which has around 200 million weekly users revealing its multiple use cases and nature of creating text based on what it is asked.
To simplify it, ChatGPT works like a super smart robot that knows a lot of words. It uses something called a “language model,” which is similar to a big book full of words and sentences. When you ask it something, it thinks really fast and gives you answers by typing out words, like sending you a message.
“What we have right now isn’t capable of coming up with something entirely new, nor is it ‘conscious’ or capable of having its own thoughts just as depictions in science fiction have imagined. While its capabilities are impressive, we’re not at a point where we need to be overly concerned about narratives of AI taking over,” Lemayian reassured.
As the founder of Tenery Research, he collaborates with governments, civil society organizations, and journalists to tackle data challenges. His work involves providing training, developing strategies, and implementing innovative tools. Lemayian is also dedicated to building AI-powered tools that empower African journalists and activists, promoting transparency and encouraging civic engagement.
“My drive is to invest in technologies that liberate and improve people’s lives, particularly in marginalised communities. We want to introduce or facilitate tech that makes life better. These applications range from healthcare to making services more efficient. I don’t believe in the use of AI for monitoring and controlling people’s actions, although in some places in the world it is the reality,” Lemayian said, emphasizing his commitment to using AI for social good.
Lemayian highlighted that Africa currently lacks the infrastructure needed to support AI advancement, a challenge that is both costly and resource-intensive to overcome. In collaboration with Dr. Shikoh Gitau, their extensive series of articles titled ‘Made in Africa’ reveals that several key factors—such as infrastructure, education, funding, localized data, government policies, awareness, and collaboration—must be addressed for Africa to fully capitalize on the AI boom. “We have a lot of setbacks but must step forward and innovate to be part of this innovation in order to take full advantage of the technologies potential gains,” Lemayian stated.
AI has come a long way since its breakthrough developments in the 2000s, marked by advancements in deep learning and neural networks. Milestones like the 2012 ImageNet victory for deep learning and the introduction of OpenAI’s GPT models have revolutionised natural language processing.
Today, AI is embedded in various industries, with applications ranging from image recognition, image generation, video generation to conversational models like ChatGPT amongst a few. The future focus is on advancing AI towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), AI that will be able to do task autonomously, while addressing ethical concerns about its impact.
Lemayian expressed optimism about AI’s potential in Africa. “I am excited by what is on the horizon for the African context, especially the possibilities of integrating AI into our everyday devices. AI gives us superpowers we didn’t have before and opens countless doors for young people to start their own businesses. The time is now,” he concluded.
As Africa navigates the rapidly evolving AI landscape, figures like Lemayian are leading the charge in ensuring the continent is not left behind in the global AI race. The dialogue about how AI will affect society needs to include Africa.
