Demystifying AI: What is Artificial Intelligence?

Xavier Africa

04/07/2023

Demystifying AI: What is Artificial Intelligence?The Dawn of a New Era

In the fast-paced world of modern business, one term resonates louder than others: “Artificial Intelligence” (AI). This revolutionary concept, often shrouded in complexity, is transforming industries globally and across Africa. But what exactly is AI? As an AI practitioner with extensive experience working with businesses and governments across the African continent, I aim to unravel this transformative technology.

The Essence of AI

At its core, AI is the pursuit of crafting machines or software that can emulate aspects of human intelligence. This emulation extends to understanding natural language, recognising patterns, making decisions, and learning from experience. AI systems typically work by taking in a large amount of data, extracting patterns or features from this data using algorithms, and then making predictions or decisions based on these patterns. It’s a process akin to how a child learns to identify a dog by seeing many dogs and recognising common features.

In Africa, AI systems are driving significant change. From chatbots that revolutionise customer service by understanding individual customer needs and engaging in real-time dialogue, to predictive algorithms that help Kenyan farmers optimise crop yields, AI is a reality that is already making a significant impact.

A Glimpse into History

The concept of AI dates back to the mid-20th century, with the term being officially coined at the Dartmouth Conference in 1956. The journey since then has been marked by periods of optimism and investment, known as ‘AI springs’, and seasons of disillusionment and funding cuts, termed ‘AI winters’. A key turning point came in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the advent of improved machine learning techniques, increased data availability, and greater computational power. A major breakthrough came in 2017 with the publication of the landmark “Attention is All You Need” paper, which revolutionised the field of natural language processing, a key component of AI.

Narrow AI vs. General AI

AI can be categorised broadly into two types: Narrow AI and General AI. Narrow AI, also known as Weak AI, is designed to perform specific tasks, like recommending songs on a streaming platform or predicting weather patterns.

General AI, also known as Strong AI, is a theoretical concept that involves creating machines capable of understanding, learning, and applying knowledge in a wide variety of tasks, just like a human being. It’s the kind of AI we often see in science fiction, where robots and AI systems think, understand, and learn just like a human would. Despite significant strides in AI research, we are yet to achieve General AI.

AI in the Wild

AI is embedded in our daily lives and is influencing our interaction with the world in ways we might not always realise. From setting an alarm via your smartphone’s voice assistant to receiving photo tag suggestions on social media platforms, AI is everywhere. On a larger scale, AI is behind the scenes in advanced robotics, autonomous vehicles, and predictive analytics. Consider Aerobotics in South Africa, which uses AI to provide farmers with detailed insights about their crops, or DabaDoc in Morocco, which leverages AI to improve access to healthcare.

Why AI Matters

In the rapidly evolving landscape of business and technology, understanding AI is a necessity. With its potential to revolutionise industries, redefine work, and transform our world, AI is a force to be reckoned with. In Africa, the rise of AI presents a wealth of opportunities for economic growth, innovation, and societal improvement. However, these opportunities come with challenges, including data privacy, the ethical use of AI, and the development of relevant skills.

Join us on this journey as we delve deeper into the world of AI in the following articles of this series, exploring its capabilities, its relationship with data, the concept of machine learning, and more. We’ll aim to make the often foggy landscape of Artificial Intelligence clearer, focusing on its implications and applications in the African context.