This week, African leaders from government, civil society and business gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the 2024 African Business Forum, co-hosted by the 37th African Union (AU) Summit and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). ABF). ) and Google.
This year's theme for the Africa Business Forum. “Promoting Africa’s Transformation through Education, Science, Technology and Innovation” aims to help the world address its greatest challenges, drive economic growth and create new opportunities for Africa through new advances in artificial intelligence (AI). Nothing could be more timely as it revolutionizes the way we create. economy and around the world.
Our CEO Sundar Pichai recently said:Africa is increasingly becoming the place where innovation begins and spreads to other parts of the world.As a long-standing partner in Africa's digital transformation efforts, Google actively supports the AU's mission to create greater prosperity for the region by fostering economic growth and accelerating regional integration.
A few months ago, we launched Digital Futures, an initiative to help researchers, academics, and organizations produce independent research and analysis and foster discussion around public policy solutions for the responsible development of AI. We have announced a project. The African Leadership University Foundation, the first recipient of the grant in Africa, will explore how AI can address poverty, hunger and disease in sub-Saharan Africa, and will explore how AI governance can reduce potential risks. We will propose a framework and study the impact of AI on social equality and economic opportunity.
African-led innovation that makes an impact
At Google, we believe African-led innovation is critical to addressing the many enduring challenges we face. Google Research established AI labs in Accra, Ghana (2018) and Nairobi, Kenya (2022), where teams conduct advanced AI/ML research with a particular focus on food security, disaster management, and remote sensing. We are working on this. Our local researchers work with partners across the continent and around the world on AI-based tools that make a difference in communities in Africa and around the world.
How AI-powered flood prediction tools are being leveraged to better support communities on the front lines of the climate crisis in 23 African countries. Contributing to our work with Jacaranda Health, a Kenyan nonprofit focused on improving maternal and infant health outcomes in government hospitals, to explore how new AI tools can support ultrasound access. Masu. In addition to Project Relate, which is being tested in Ghana to help people who speak non-standard languages, we are working with organizations that make scientific advances and provide technology that improves the daily lives of people across the continent. We are affiliated.
African-led innovation is transforming Africa's creative sector. YouTube has played a key role in discovering and developing African culture and exporting it to audiences around the world, enabling collaboration both locally and globally. YouTube Originals like Wizkid and inspiring stories like Olympic medalist Julius Yego show that inspiring talent and stories from anywhere can find a global audience. Google Arts and Culture has a long history of supporting culture, Whether it's digitizing more than 40,000 Timbuktu manuscripts to preserve Africa's greatest written heritage, or supporting community efforts to protect UNESCO World Heritage Sites like the Osun Osogbo Forest.
The socio-economic and workforce promise that AI brings to Africa
We believe that AI has the ability to accelerate economic growth, and that African governments and businesses can work together to make it happen. A few months ago, Google sponsored an AI whitepaper that provides an initial assessment of some of the potential economic benefits of AI in Africa. The paper suggests that, based on current growth rates, AI applications could deliver economic benefits worth at least $136 billion in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa by 2030.
For example, when we think about education, we think about the impact of AI on expanding access to and democratizing learning. Since 2017, our company has trained digital skills to more than 6 million people in Africa. Including cooperation with the African Union (AU). More than 20,000 people have graduated from the Google Career Certificates program in Africa, and more than 80% of graduates experience positive career outcomes, including a new job, increased salary, and promotion within six months of completing the program. reported to have had an impact.
But we know that AI can also be a disruptive force. Government and industry must work together to help workers upskill, businesses adapt, and schools leverage AI for personalized learning.
Collaborating on responsible regulatory approaches for bold impact
Governments across the continent are taking AI governance for granted and are developing policy frameworks to mitigate potential risks. At a time when many parts of the world are experiencing increasing fragmentation and weakening trade discipline, Africa is demonstrating cooperative leadership.
We are excited by the prospect of the AU Summit adopting Africa's first digital trade agreement through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Protocol and AI Strategy. These ground-breaking policy frameworks have the potential to pave the way for Africa to make the most of AI opportunities through sound public policies that create a coordinated, risk-based, globally interoperable regulatory approach. It's hidden. Regulatory fragmentation makes it more difficult for companies of all sizes to provide services and technology across borders, primarily hurting small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer resources to comply with a web of conflicting regulations. Masu.
Our vision is that this enabling policy environment will enable Africans to not only use AI, but also create AI. The AU Commission, UNECA, the African Development Bank and other Pan-African institutions play a catalytic role and are well placed to promote a coherent approach to managing cross-border technologies such as AI. We will help these institutions convene governments to explore how they can make AI more accessible through policies and investments to foster research and development, develop talent, and deploy cloud infrastructure and computing power. I look forward to seeing how you discuss it. We also have a unique opportunity to partner with the technology industry, civil society, and academia to promote a consistent legal and regulatory framework that fosters innovation and enables reliable cross-border data flows.
We are working with AU Member States to harness the full potential of AI to achieve the UN SDGs and Agenda 2063, create more opportunities for more people and drive unprecedented growth. We are passionate about working with governments, businesses and civil society across the globe.
