BY LEULSEGED WORKU
Society is always at the forefront in the development of Artificial intelligence (AI). Starting from the time the concept of Artificial Intelligence developed there were/ are two categories of society that support the development of Artificial Intelligence and those who are against to it. In those countries where the society accepted the technology with warm heart, the standard and life style of the society has been greatly elevated, their economic progress has grown at a fast pace and shown a total shift. To the contrary, in those societies where AI is still criticized and challenged, the society is leading a life style that can be considered as a Stone Age.
Whenever the issue of AI arises, it is always the society that benefits most. After all what is technology if it fails to address the needs of the society?
In a country like Ethiopia where the notion of “AI” is not advanced, the society is not that much benefited. Absence of proper awareness to it together with lack of sufficient budget from the government, AI had been lagging behind. However, lately, using all the available opportunities, the government is spending budget to develop it.
Lately, the first ever AI workshop and Exhibition was held in Addis. On the event several individuals and institutions have staged their works that fills societal gaps. Since the main goal of AI is promoting the good will of the society, several innovative ideas that were presented in the exhibition are targeted alleviating societal problems in area of health, schooling, and agriculture among others.
It is well understood that, agriculture is the major economic ground of the nation. However, due to absence of proper technology and poor awareness of farmers towards “AI” the sector still could not bring the expected result. This is especially true in areas of food security.
As it was told by AI Ethiopia exhibitor, Fraol Gelana , absence of awareness among the society together with other gaps have affected Ethiopian agriculture sector and especially the food security issues.
“AI” was not implemented fully in Ethiopia. Due to that, the society was not getting what it deserve form the agricultural sector. This has directly and indirectly affected the food security issues and the income from commercial crops. A good example to this is, coffee production that has a significant economic benefit to the nation. According to him, the more the society equipped with improved technologies the more they can easily monitor their plantation. Currently, most farmers have a cellphone in their hands. Using this cellphone they can monitor their crop from diseases and pests, he remarked.
“Seeing the importance of “AI” the country has now mobilized its resource for its proper implementation. If properly applied and awareness is created among the societies, AI can automatically shift the living style of the society.”
Abenezer Kaleab, is among the exhibitors whom The Ethiopian Herald approached. Seconding the view of Fraol, he said that, despite the significant role of AI in day today activities of the society, the country is still lagging behind the world. AI is not all about the Robot. It goes beyond that. If properly applied and deployed, it is a powerful tool to transform the society in to better situation, he opined.
According to him, the recent COVID-related challenge is a good warning to Ethiopian society. Starting from its outbreak, several countries are conducting their activities using AI. However, those nations with poor IA infrastructure have become vulnerable to the virus. In this regard, by applying the technology, Ethiopia can further overcome the threat of the pandemic.
According to him, poor awareness in the society to the technology is one serious challenge in our country. Absence of attention from the government was the other. However, this trend is being reversed now due to government`s attention and the establishment of Artificial Intelligence Center in the nation.
The Ethiopian Herald 23 April 2021
