AI could bridge Namibia's digital gap if challenges tackled
Namibian technology experts agree that artificial intelligence (AI) could potentially bridge the digital divide between Namibia and developed countries, but that several foundational issues need to be addressed first.
Nrupesh Soni, founder and owner of Facilit8 Namibia, believes that AI solutions must be tailored specifically for Namibia.
Meanwhile, Dr Arpit Jain, head of the India-Namibia Centre of Excellence in Information Technology (INCEIT), believes there is a communication gap between academics, who should be developing AI systems, and the industries for which these AI solutions are intended.
"We need to understand what the industry requires so we can develop AI systems that make their work easier," he said during a panel discussion at CCHub in Windhoek last week.
Strengthen infrastructure
Salt Essential IT’s empowerment specialist, Vanessa Maresch, said during the discussion that internet connectivity and the quality of Namibia’s technological infrastructure must drastically improve to enable proper integration with AI.
"For AI to work, you need to reach the regions. You need internet connectivity, infrastructure and education... We’ll have to upgrade so that our infrastructure can handle the workload," she said.
Maresch also argued that AI systems will reflect their users. "We train the AI systems, not the other way around. If we end up with AI in a Terminator scenario, it’s because we trained it that way," she said.
She believes that ethical considerations will be of utmost importance for AI. "For example, if I go to a hardware store to buy a hammer, they can’t stop me from buying it just because I might use it to hurt someone. The same is true for AI – of course, there will be people with bad intentions who misuse it, but at the same time, there will be people with good intentions trying to prevent harm. We need to teach people to use AI ethically, and we need to incorporate an ethical component into our AI systems," said Maresch.
AI tasks
Soni believes that information such as census data should be made publicly available so that AI can access and utilise it.
He thinks that collaboration with other countries and foreign entities could help Namibia be at the forefront of the AI revolution, but that such partnerships should be mutually beneficial for all involved.
Maresch believes that AI will only be integrated into Namibia when there are profitable applications for it. However, she warns that Namibians should not become overly dependent on AI. "AI doesn’t have feelings, and it lacks creativity. The question now is whether we are making ourselves smarter by using AI or making the system smarter. AI should take over all the boring, repetitive tasks – not the creative work. AI will only replace us if we teach it to do so," she said.
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Nrupesh Soni, founder and owner of Facilit8 Namibia, believes that AI solutions must be tailored specifically for Namibia.
Meanwhile, Dr Arpit Jain, head of the India-Namibia Centre of Excellence in Information Technology (INCEIT), believes there is a communication gap between academics, who should be developing AI systems, and the industries for which these AI solutions are intended.
"We need to understand what the industry requires so we can develop AI systems that make their work easier," he said during a panel discussion at CCHub in Windhoek last week.
Strengthen infrastructure
Salt Essential IT’s empowerment specialist, Vanessa Maresch, said during the discussion that internet connectivity and the quality of Namibia’s technological infrastructure must drastically improve to enable proper integration with AI.
"For AI to work, you need to reach the regions. You need internet connectivity, infrastructure and education... We’ll have to upgrade so that our infrastructure can handle the workload," she said.
Maresch also argued that AI systems will reflect their users. "We train the AI systems, not the other way around. If we end up with AI in a Terminator scenario, it’s because we trained it that way," she said.
She believes that ethical considerations will be of utmost importance for AI. "For example, if I go to a hardware store to buy a hammer, they can’t stop me from buying it just because I might use it to hurt someone. The same is true for AI – of course, there will be people with bad intentions who misuse it, but at the same time, there will be people with good intentions trying to prevent harm. We need to teach people to use AI ethically, and we need to incorporate an ethical component into our AI systems," said Maresch.
AI tasks
Soni believes that information such as census data should be made publicly available so that AI can access and utilise it.
He thinks that collaboration with other countries and foreign entities could help Namibia be at the forefront of the AI revolution, but that such partnerships should be mutually beneficial for all involved.
Maresch believes that AI will only be integrated into Namibia when there are profitable applications for it. However, she warns that Namibians should not become overly dependent on AI. "AI doesn’t have feelings, and it lacks creativity. The question now is whether we are making ourselves smarter by using AI or making the system smarter. AI should take over all the boring, repetitive tasks – not the creative work. AI will only replace us if we teach it to do so," she said.
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