Practical AI 🌍 AI in Africa - Makerere AI Lab
Oct 19, 2021
Join Joyce and Mutembesa as they discuss groundbreaking work in AI at Makerere University's lab. They tackle community-driven data collection and innovative solutions for local challenges in agriculture and healthcare. Hear about the Open for Good Alliance and its efforts to empower smallholder farmers through technology. The conversation also highlights the importance of teamwork in AI projects, while addressing data bias and the role of AI in responding to COVID-19 in Africa. It's an inspiring look at how AI can create real impact.
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Open for Good Alliance Origins
- Daniel Whitenack connected with the Open for Good Alliance, a multi-stakeholder group formed in 2020.
- The alliance includes organizations like the IDRC, GIZ's Fair Forward project, and Makerere University.
Open for Good's Mission
- Localized training data of sufficient quality is lacking, hindering local AI innovation in Africa and Asia.
- The Open for Good Alliance addresses this by coordinating and exchanging best practices for increasing the availability and quality of open training data.
Makerere AI Lab's Focus
- Makerere AI Lab, a group formed around 2009-2010 by returning doctorate holders, focuses on local community issues.
- They apply computational techniques learned abroad to address problems in agriculture, health, infrastructure, and languages.