African Artificial Intelligence needs human guidance…for now

Because of my profession, not a day goes by when people don’t ask me about Artificial Intelligence (AI); the buzz and excitement are inescapable. However, I temper clients’ expectations. AI is not a magic wand, especially for Africa. In Africa, we should be focusing on African Artificial Intelligence (AAI). A truly tailored version of AI for the African continent. The first thing to remember is that we cannot implement general solutions for individuals and specific challenges.

AI holds immense potential for Africa to drive development, innovation, and economic growth. Eliminating coders, engineers, and analysts may sound great from a cost-cutting perspective, but the reality is slightly different. Simply assuming that ChatGPT or Copilot can do all the work has started to create problems. Putting the future of your organisation in the hands of AI is running into challenges. These hurdles are magnified in Namibia.

Africa must program its own future

Namibians communicate differently; we would immediately know if we were talking to a Chatbot because of phrasing, for example. The solutions offered by AI that work in other parts of the world may not work locally. AI is linguistically programmed in English through Large Language Models (LLMs) and does not account for local languages. This can create enormous bias, especially in African countries. Investing in African Artificial Intelligence (AAI) is a must. We must invest and programme AI to cater to Namibian and African needs. This is where coders, engineers, and specialists come in.

This is why Green Enterprise Solutions is up-skilling its workforce not only to understand but also to equip them with the expertise to leverage AAI for its clients. If we manage to harness AAI correctly and implement it in organisations, making it a supporting and developing tool, it becomes an exceedingly valuable asset. An asset that can be a catalyst for growth, operational efficiency, and service delivery.

AAI can be implemented; we need prompts and coding that are specific to how Africans engage with each other, the language, and the vernacular that they use.  We recognize and understand the transformative potential of AI. The African Union (AU) has developed an African-specific strategy, called the Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy. This promotes an Africa-centric, development-focused approach to AI, emphasizing ethical, responsible, and equitable practices.

Suppose we do not rework the existing AI models such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, or Copilot for the African continent, without addressing challenges specific to Africa’s socio-economic context? We will forever be playing catch-up. That is why we need AAI, and for it to be programmed by Africans for Africa. This is where new career opportunities lie. It must integrate policies that AI applications are designed to respect cultural values, protect individual rights, and local language nuances. With more than one billion people across our continent, it would be crazy not to have the AI models reprogrammed for Africa.

One of the primary challenges Africa faces is the digital divide; local experts and companies must be integral to the AAI revolution across Africa. AI in Africa is still in its infancy. If we ensure that we engineer and program the models for our language and culture, the continent will be unstoppable, on our terms.

We must not fear AI, and although some jobs may fall away, new careers and opportunities will be created. We don’t just have a role to play as humans when it comes to AI; we are essential as Africans for the future of AI.

Kehad Snydewel is the Managing Director at Green Enterprise Solutions (Pty) Ltd. He has a wealth of experience in Consulting and Systems Integration across various sectors and ICT Platforms.