Africa's struggle in the global AI race: Addressing the digital divide

Africa is lagging far behind in the global AI race. This does not come as a surprise, however, it has now been confirmed and revealed  in an Oxford University report titled, AI Compute Sovereignty Infrastructure Control Across Territories, Cloud Providers, and Accelerators”.

The report mapped where AI data centres are located. It claims that artificial intelligence has fractured the world between nations with the computing power for building cutting edge AI systems and those without. The report indicates that only 32 countries, or about 16% of nations, have large facilities filled with microchips and computers, which gives them “computer power”.

This revelation should serve as a wake up call to those who care about the sovereignty of different nations. It seems those who should act are more concerned about the appearance of advancement in the AI race. In Africa what we’ve seen so far is the continuation of what has happened in the past. Africa has just served as a shop front of tech giants and local leaders have been excited about selling global tech to locals.

We are witnessing the entry of AI solutions in the form of products for consumption instead of AI development initiatives. The only promising initiative is brought to the continent by Strive Masiyiwa.

Recently, Zimbabwean billionaire Masiyiwa’s Cassava Technologies announced a partnership with Nvidia to build Africa’s first artificial intelligence factory. This isn’t just another data centre  it’s a specialised powerhouse designed specifically for AI computing. It’s reported that Cassava plans to use Nvidia’s cutting-edge AI technology in South Africa, with expansion planned across Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria. The facility will be powered by Nvidia supercomputers that use GPUs, or graphics processing units. It is envisaged that it will provide what Cassava calls “AI as a service” across the continent, leveraging an extensive fiber-optic network and energy-efficient data centers.

An AI factory is designed to power others to get the benefits that comes with AI. Coined by Nvidia’s visionary CEO, Jensen Huang, an AI factory is a specialised environment equipped with the infrastructure needed to manage a complete AI life cycle. It’s where raw data enters and trained AI emerges. These facilities streamline the development of AI systems by bringing together data pipelines, algorithm development, and model experimentation into one optimized ecosystem. The beauty with such a concept is that it enables local data to be put into good use for homegrown AI solutions. There’s a need for more such AI factories.

 Clearly, not enough is being done to ensure that the African continent is on an equal footing with nations in the AI race. The current situation calls for an urgent intervention by leaders  across the continent. Lack of action in this regard could lead to a situation where the continent will always beg others for just about everything. The first step in this regard could focus on the establishment of an AI Fund sourced from leading African countries for the creation of more local AI factories. 

Some academics in South Africa have been thinking about this issue, however, little is known about their recommendations. It’s about time that all stakeholders begin open discussions about required action to address the new digital divide.

Wesley Diphoko is the technology analyst and Editor-In-Chief of FastCompany (SA) magazine. 

*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or IOL. 

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