The deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is proliferating on the
African continent, but policy responses are still at their early stages. This article
provides an overview of the main elements of AI deployment in Africa, AI’s core
benefits and challenges in African settings, and AI’s core policy dimensions for the
continent. It is argued that for AI to build, rather than undermine, socio-economic
inclusion in African settings, policymakers need to be cognisant of the following
key dimensions: gender equity, cultural and linguistic diversity, and labour
market shifts.
This article aims to evaluate Egypt’s progress on the road towards a knowledge society. The paper discusses the evolution and assesses the outcomes of ICT initiatives in place in Egypt. Equally, the paper analyzes the status and potential of factors that are necessary for the realization of such a society at this turning point in the country’s history. The paper pinpoints the progress achieved on many fronts and identifies necessary steps to match leading knowledge and digital societies. The paper suggests some useful strategies for the government to expand access and contribution to knowledge – promoting a shared knowledge society in co-operation with the private sector in order to bridge the gaps. Efforts should not only be focused on expanding and enhancing connectivity and technology, but should also promote content development, provide educational opportunities and foster a comprehensive enabling environment.
This chapter looks at the challenges, opportunities, and tensions facing the equitable development of artificial intelligence (AI) in the MENA region in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. While diverse in their natural and human resource endowments, countries of the region share a commonality in the predominance of a youthful population amid complex political and economic contexts. Rampant unemployment—especially among a growing young population—together with informality, gender, and digital inequalities, will likely shape the impact of AI technologies, especially in the region’s labor-abundant resource-poor countries. The chapter then analyzes issues related to data, legislative environment, infrastructure, and human resources as key inputs to AI technologies which in their current state may exacerbate existing inequalities. Ultimately, the promise for AI technologies for inclusion and helping mitigate inequalities lies in harnessing grounds-up youth entrepreneurship and innovation initiatives driven by data and AI, with a few hopeful signs coming from national policies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.