Professor Mrs. Rita Akosua Dickson, Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) says it is imperative that Africa takes the investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology and its responsible use seriously. "AI holds much promise and is seen as a game changer in transforming the digital economy. "Therefore, institutions of higher learning in the sub-Region should focus on programmes that are directed at equipping the next generation with the requisite tools to lead the digital revolution," the Vice-Chancellor advised. Mrs. Dickson was addressing a conference dubbed: "Responsible AI and Ethics – A Panacea to Digital Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa", held at the Great Hall, Kumasi. The programme was held under the auspices of the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Lab (RAIL), KNUST, and the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Network (RAIN) Africa, which seeks to promote the responsible adaptation and use of AI in sub-Saharan Africa.

Experts have suggested that the knowledge of Artificial Intelligence must be domesticated in Nigeria for the nation to meet up with the world. The experts explained that government, academia, community, and private sector must come together to rejuvenate Artificial Intelligence knowledge. This was disclosed during an annual lecture by the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, Osun State University, in honour of its pioneer Provost, Prof'Diran Famurewa held at the institution's Auditorium in Osogbo on Thursday. The Vice-Chancellor of Summit University Offa, Kwara, Prof. Abiodun Musa, professor of Mechatronics and who was the guest lecturer said Nigerian universities must not only generate money, but they must generate knowledge to solve community problems and needs as students must learn to solve community problems. The Vice-Chancellor, who is also an expert in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, explained that if Nigeria needs to go beyond user to developer, it needs to rejuvenate artificial intelligence by looking into curriculum and implementation.

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the rubber value chain will be a game changer in the nearest future and the sector can realise more value through predictive analytics, said Saji Gopinath, Vice-Chancellor, Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology. The aggressive use of data transformation tools has resulted in new business models, facilitating new products and services that can generate greater utility and a new culture of management. Th Vice-Chancellor was speaking on'Efficient use of Artificial Intelligence and Block Chain Technology in Rubber Marketing' at the Indian Rubber Meet here during the weekend. John Baffes, Senior Agricultural Economist, Development Economics Prospects Group, World Bank, pointed out that non-energy prices are expected to rise 20 per cent in 2022, with the highest increase in commodities where Russia or Ukraine are key exporters. He further said the outlook depends on the duration of the war and the severity of disruptions to commodity flows.

The Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor Mrs. Rita Akosua Dickson, has said the University remains committed to advancing research in Artificial Intelligence (AI). This she said is part of efforts to ensure that the country does not get left behind in the application of AI for national socio-economic development. "We at the KNUST are providing the enabling research environment to our cherished scientists to lead in scientific discoveries, harness innovation and foster scientific collaborations," the Vice-Chancellor said. "This is because Ghana and the sub-Saharan Region cannot be left out of the positive outlook that the application of AI is projected to make on global development and national socio-economic transformation. Mrs. Dickson, who was addressing a workshop in Kumasi on Friday, May 6, 2022, on the theme: "The Role of Responsible AI in Promoting the Sustainable Development Agenda in the sub-Region", said the global market contribution of AI as of 2019, according to the Grand View Research, was about US $39.9 billion.

In the coming decade, I expect that AI will play an increasingly prominent role in the lives of people everywhere. AI-infused services will become more common, and AI will become increasingly embedded in the daily lives of people across the world. I believe that this will bring with it great economic and societal benefits, but that it will also require us to address the many challenges to ensure that the benefits are broadly shared and that people are not marginalised by these new technologies. A key insight of AI research is that it is easier to build things than to understand why they work. However, defining what success looks like for an AI application is not straightforward.

In the coming decade, I expect that AI will play an increasingly prominent role in the lives of people everywhere. AI-infused services will become more common, and AI will become increasingly embedded in the daily lives of people across the world. I believe that this will bring with it great economic and societal benefits, but that it will also require us to address the many challenges to ensure that the benefits are broadly shared and that people are not marginalised by these new technologies. A key insight of AI research is that it is easier to build things than to understand why they work. However, defining what success looks like for an AI application is not straightforward.

He also launched the IT Department's placement drive on the occasion. Addressing the participants, Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mehraj-ud-Din Mir, said the "Digitization and internet technologies have already become an integral part of human lives including academics even before the Covid-19 outbreak and the pandemic has further established the fact that internet and associated technologies have a major stake and role in the future." He asked the Departments of IT, Media Studies and Law to join hands and provide solutions to the issues confronted by the masses, through technological intervention. Prof. Mehraj ud Din Mir encouraged the students to take part in training and workshops that will help them to develop employable skills that are in demand. Regarding the placement drive, he said, "The placement cell constituted for the purpose will help our students to launch their careers in the direction they intend to."

ARTIFICIAL Intelligence (AI) is developing faster than we imagined. If we look closely, our lives are being enhanced by AI or at least with technologies and applications using algorithms that monitor and learn from our behaviour. Applications such as Google, Facebook, Spotify, Uber and Netflix use machine learning to extract street names from photos, recognise and tag friends, find favourite songs, estimate arrival times and pick-up locations, and recommend movies. As AI is developed to learn and think more like humans and to replace lower-skilled roles, its impact on future employment and data privacy has become a point of contention among technology experts, organisations, governments and the general public. In response, the University of Southampton Malaysia (UoSM) will be hosting Prof Dame Wendy Hall in a public lecture on The Artificial Intelligence Revolution on Sept 30 at The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur.