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 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 South
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.
Industry leaders showcased cutting-edge AI applications that have been transforming South Africa’s telecommunications landscape and emphasised the need for secure networks to protect citizens against privacy and data breaches.
“There definitely needs to be regulations to ensure that the user is always safe when using generative AI applications, because it can have its challenges, so human intervention is required at the core of the digital space,” Accenture South Africa’s Nitesh Singh told the M&G.
He had earlier made a presentation on generative AI — an algorithm used to create content such as text and images — stressing that the rapid transformation of the digital space required regulations.
Gokhale echoed these sentiments, saying South Africa needed to create a robust policy framework.
“As we drive transformative innovation initiatives, all countries, including South Africa, will also need to work to create a robust policy framework which drives innovation and at the same time remain cognisant of the governance and ethical use of AI,” he said.
Earlier this year South Africa released its National Artificial Intelligence Policy Framework that emphasises the importance of human-centred AI to ensure that applications improve human decision-making rather than replacing it.
“By safeguarding professional responsibility and promoting human values, the framework ensures that AI development aligns with societal and ethical considerations,” the policy document says.
At a separate conference on the theory and practice of electronic governance earlier this month, experts warned against the blind adoption of AI as transformative technology, saying there was a need for dialogue on its potential effect on humans.
This week’s forum celebrated the next generation of innovators in the field, with the announcement of the winners selected from 130 student papers submitted on the subject.
Marchant Fourie, Herman Myburgh and Allan de Freitas from the University of Pretoria won the best paper award for their research on “automated crocodile detection using deep learning and synthetic data”.
Telkom sponsored the journalist’s attendance at the conference.
