News Responsible AI & Ethics From an African Perspective: Summary
On June 28, Prof. Jerry John Kponyo, Dean of the Quality Assurance and Planning Office of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Principal Investigator and Scientific Director of the Responsible AI Lab(RAIL) and co-founder of the Responsible AI Network Africa conducted a compelling presentation on Responsible AI & Ethics from an African Perspective at the Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence offices in Munich.
Prof. Christoph Lütge, Director of the Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence and also co-founder of RAIN Africa, welcomed the distinguished guest speaker and the physical and virtual participants to the lecture and then Prof. Kponyo started his presentation by briefly describing Ghana’s Premier Science and Technology University, KNUST.
During the presentation, Prof. Kponyo highlighted some of the opportunities of AI for Africans in different sectors such as health, education, food production, transportation, public services etc. He stressed that a major hindrance to AI development in Africa is the lack of “Afrocentric” data. Data is the fuel that drives AI; currently, most of the data used to develop AI solutions is generated from other continents. Africans need to generate their datasets to develop tailored solutions and avoid data biases.
As Principal Investigator and Scientific Director of the Responsible AI Lab (RAIL), Prof. Kponyo presented the work of this newly funded lab. He stressed that RAIL seeks to be a first step in establishing a sustainable approach to nurturing local talent to engage in multidisciplinary, responsible AI for research development and innovation, focusing on women and responding to the public and private sector requirements. Through research projects, workshops and short courses, RAIL seeks to provide students with the required skills and knowledge regarding AI-related issues.
Prof. Kponyo focused his presentation on explaining why AI should be responsible. Responsible AI allows people to trust and accept AI solutions. It also ensures that developers of AI solutions are held accountable for the actions of their products. Considerations about Responsible AI include fairness and equity, transparency and explainability, accountability and safety, data privacy and governance, social and environmental impact of AI solutions.
During the presentation, he added that it is essential to have policy frameworks that will guide the development process of AI products and that ethical issues should be considered right from the start of any AI-related project.
Educating people on what AI is about and bringing minority groups to the table when developing AI solutions to assure inclusivity and avoid bias is essential.
“Education systems will need to adapt quickly and new frameworks need to be created
Jerry Kponyo
for workers and citizens to develop the skills they need to thrive”
Last but not least, Prof. Kponyo referred to the Responsible AI Network Africa, the collaborative initiative of the TUM Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence (Germany) and the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, KNUST (Ghana), which aims to bring together enthusiasts of AI from industry and academia to deliberate on how AI can be leveraged to push the fourth industrial revolution.
“The focus of the RAIN Africa is to be a strong voice for the ethical and responsible use of AI.”
Jerry Kponyo
And concluded:
“We all must be involved in developing AI ethical frameworks and their implementation.”
Jerry Kponyo
