BY KFLEEYESUS ABEBE
The advent of internet has made tremendous impact on the lives of people across the world. The saying “ the world has become a global village” seems to be tangible as thanks to technology reducing distance and isolation. Its contribution for developing countries like Ethiopia is rather high as it helps remote places access information and basic services. Google has so far been the leading and most used search engine in Ethiopia provding facts, figures, articles, researches, solution, guidance to students, teachers and anyone seeking information on a given topic. It is also helping by providing funding and support for technology-based education and entrepreneurship programs.
Social media platforms such as facebook, twitter and the recent TikTok are also making Ethiopians more connected, informed and productive. But techological advancments are rapidly changing to provide more opportunities that make lives of people easier and comfortable. Chatbots are now taking the stage,maybe to change the world in unprecedented pace. Chatbots are basically conversational applications that aid customer service, engagement, and support by replacing or augmenting human support agents with artificial intelligence (AI) and other automation technologies that can communicate with end-users via chat.On November 30, 2022,
an artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT prototype is launched and become an amusement globally since it is doing many things that are beyond comprehension. The newest OpenAI model, was released on March 14, 2023, and is available for ChatGPT Plus users. The chatbot answers questions, writes essays and creates computer programs using artificial intelligence.
As the use of ChatGPT is started in Ethiopia too, you may wonder what makes it different from other internet based applications and what can it do to Ethiopia. Comparing Google with ChatGPT, Google helps to find information on the internet while ChatGPTis an AI language model that can generate human-like responses to natural language inputs. It is a deep learning algorithm that has been trained on massive amounts of text data and can understand the context of the input text. ChatGPT can be used to build conversational agents, chatbots, and other applications that require natural language processing.
I ask CHATGPT itself this question: “What can Chatgpt do for developing countries like Ethiopia?” The response of the AI based CHATGPT is the following. //As an AI language model, Chatgpt can provide information and resources that can help develop countries like Ethiopia in the following ways:
Education: Chatgpt can provide information on educational resources and courses that can help students in Ethiopia develop skills and knowledge that can help them succeed in their careers.
Healthcare: Chatgpt can provide information on healthcare resources and services that are available in Ethiopia, and also provide guidance on managing illnesses and prevention measures.
Agriculture: Ethiopia’s economy heavily relies on agriculture, and Chatgpt can provide insights on farming techniques, crop selection, and financial management to help rural farmers maximize their yields and incomes.
Finance: Chatgpt can provide information on microfinance opportunities, loan facilities, and investment opportunities that can help people in Ethiopia become financially secure and start their own businesses.
Social issues: Chatgpt can help raise awareness on social issues like gender inequality, child marriage, and child labor, and also provide guidance on government policies and programs that can address these issues.
Overall, Chatgpt can provide valuable resources and information to help Ethiopia progress and grow.//
Ethiopia however has to do several actitivies to utilize chatGPT effectively. As ChatGPT’s recommendations, Ethiopia first and foremost needs to increase awareness and access to AI technology. It should start by increasing awareness and understanding of AI, including its potential benefits in different sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, or transportation. It should also ensure that adequate infrastructure, such as high-speed internet and computer systems, are available in different regions to support the development and rollout of AI-based applications.
Second, it should develop local ChatGPT models: Ethiopia can improve the effectiveness of ChatGPT by developing local models that are trained on Ethiopian data and tested on Ethiopian language. This would ensure that the model performs better in understanding the nuances of the Ethiopian culture and language, leading to more accurate and relevant responses.
ChatGPT as it recognizes Ethiopia’s potential to agricultural productivity it also suggests Ethiopia to use AI for agriculture. The technology can be used to provide recommendations and advice on crop management, weather, and market prices to farmers. This can help them make more informed decisions, boost crop yields, and ultimately increase revenues. The AI can also be used in healthcare to diagnose diseases, recommend treatments, and monitor patients remotely. Ethiopia can leverage ChatGPT to provide basic health advice to citizens, connect patients with healthcare providers or hospitals, and manage health records.
Fostering partnerships and collaborations with AI experts from different countries, universities, and research institutions is also important . These collaborations can help in developing robust AI systems and solving complex problems that are unique to Ethiopia.
In addition to this, Ethiopia should also ensure ethical and transparent AI development: As with any emerging technology, AI comes with its own set of ethical and moral considerations. Therefore, it should ensure that AI development and usage follows ethical guidelines, safeguards user privacy, and is transparent in its decision-making processes.
Though the digitalization process has long way to go, Ethiopia seems to realize what it could contribute to its economy. It launched its digital transformation strategy 2025 in 2020. The Ethio-telecom’s service and penetration are increasing day by day. Just this year, data and internet users reaches 31.3 million, Other activities such as supporting innovation through competition, the recent program of building comprehensive digital academy, electronic strategy study project, policy and advocation panels are also enabling to garn new technology to its fullest.
ChatGPT can be instrumental to schools and universities where books and other essential resources aren’t enough. It can bridge the gap of lack of access to information, knowledge and resources where it matters. Yet, develop local materials, local ChatGPT models to make local issues, wisdom and resources available too. Building comprehensive digital academy on which Ethiopian Ministry of Innovation and Technology delibrated this week are very vital. The ministry’s collaboration with other sectors and friendly nation this week also helps its stride to digitalization. Closing the digital divide, formulating laws and raising awareness Ethiopia can make use of this opportunity and realize its digitalization ambition expediting achievements to all economical sectors.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 24 MARCH 2023
