In a small office space in Tamale, about 379 miles (610 km) north of Accra, Ghana’s capital, young people are using artificial intelligence (AI) to translate English-language articles into the local language, allowing them to get online. Overcoming language barriers.
For them, Ghana should think about harnessing the potential of AI instead of worrying about AI’s shortcomings and coming up with regulations.
“It’s a backwards way of thinking,” Mohamed Kamaluddin Husseini, one of the young IT men, told DW. “When I heard the news, I was shocked to the bone.”
“Other countries are currently thinking about advancing AI, but we are thinking about regulations that bind AI,” Husseini added. He noted that there was a recent heated debate in the Ghanaian parliament, with some lawmakers proposing to set up an AI council.
Ghana urged to monitor AI use
During the debate, Tamale South MP Harna Idris tried to justify why the government should regulate artificial intelligence. He said he hopes the state will set up an artificial intelligence council to oversee the use of AI.
“Who is criminally responsible for machine error when using artificial intelligence?” Idris posed. The use of AI, especially in educational institutions, needs more scrutiny, according to the former communications minister.
“Is it taught in Ghana at the primary level? Is it taught at the secondary or university level?” said the 52-year-old politician. “We need to work as a country not to become a victim of digital colonization.
Who Should Be Responsible for AI Errors?
Recent statistics show that Ghana has an average internet penetration rate of 72%, making it a thriving digital environment, especially for young people. IT professionals like Dr. Arnold Mashud Abkari, who lives in Tamale, told DW they disagreed with the fear of making mistakes when using AI.
“When we say artificial intelligence, we simply mean translating human activity and reasoning into machines,” Abkari said.
“So if members of parliament and those who argue with that point of view want to limit their arguments to mistakes, then if artificial intelligence or machines are prone to making mistakes, they can make them. It means that the human being who has been doing it is also making a mistake.
Abkari explained that the AI is based on tried and confirmed algorithms based on several simulations. “Once ABCD is complete, we get the expected result and it is implemented. So from the point of view of an error-prone machine, I doubt if that’s enough to ask for AI limits.” is.”
What is Artificial Intelligence?
According to the UNESCO Global Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology, artificial intelligence refers to machines that can mimic certain functions of human intelligence. This includes functions such as perception, learning, reasoning, problem-solving, dialogue, and creating algorithm-dependent creative works.
The use of artificial intelligence is still in its early stages in Ghana and most people have only a rudimentary understanding of the technology.
“Artificial intelligence is one of the areas of information technology that has been catching up very quickly, and countries and individuals need to be ready to harness the potential it offers,” said IT expert Abkari. Stated.
AI generation
Concerns about the use of AI are around the world, but they are becoming a problem for two generations: the pre-computer generation and Ghana’s so-called digital natives.
Idris said that while AI has potential, it also has negative implications. “Artificial intelligence in developing countries poses potential risks,” warned Idris, noting that new technologies build on existing inequalities in developing and developed regions and could exacerbate them. emphasized that there is
Google’s AI research in Ghana
In 2018, Google opened its first AI research center in Africa in Accra.
The US-based tech giant hopes to help expand the continent’s artificial intelligence capabilities by working with regional universities, research institutes and governments to explore AI’s potential applications in Africa.
“Artificial intelligence will push some people out.” [of their jobs]But it will also create more jobs,” Abkari said, calling on the Ghanaian government to accept those jobs.
“Does our education system have courses that visualize the kinds of jobs and opportunities that artificial intelligence will bring to us?”
Editor: Keith Walker
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