It is a known fact that there is steady growth of mobile broadband subscriptions around the world, especially with technology advancements such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), however, its rapid growth and adaption means that Africa needs to develop technologically at the speed of light in order to prepare for the growth spurt, as a recent report by Ericsson has identified that mobile broadband subscriptions in the Middle East and Africa is growing to rise by 300 percent between 2016 and 2022.
Raffiah Ibrahim, President, Middle East and Africa at Ericsson, linked the rise in mobile broadband subscriptions across the two continents to the growth of Artificial Intelligence.
Artificial intelligence is the development and use of computers to perform tasks that traditionally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, and language translation. With AI, computers learn from data sets to understand underlying data structures and uncover procedures to make the correct use of the data.
Because AI will fundamentally alter what it means to be human in this world, businesses will need to refocus plans with this in mind. For example, businesses within the autonomous vehicle space will need to rethink the transportation experience according to how users want to spend this time, and will therefore need to introduce ride sharing and reinvent the space within the vehicle based on how users will want to spend their time, when attention at the wheel is no longer required.
Higher order capabilities will be augmented by AI to extend natural barriers for conceptualisation and execution of creative endeavours.
Even today, visual arts and music creation tools use AI to make the composition process more intuitive to the creators’ intentions and goals. AI will be a collaborator for humans as they are inspired to push past current boundaries and test new concepts across all areas of innovation.
“Ericsson’s projection that mobile broadband subscriptions in the Middle East and Africa are expected to grow by almost three times in six years clearly illustrates the potential that AI will have across the region with the ability to impact growth in key areas that are critical for economic progress including agriculture, healthcare, education and infrastructure development,” Ibrahim said.
The recent report which was compiled by Ericcson, AT&T Foundry and RocketSpace specifies that Africa and the Middle East should ensure that the users of AI have the technical literacy to engage with — and develop alongside, as AI tools will become a focal point for both traditional and career education. Meanwhile, products that go beyond functional solutions and allow users to quickly do the most interesting, exciting and meaningful things with their time, will win the consumer market.
Ericsson says in a statement made available to BusinessDay that; “AI will have an enormous impact on our daily lives. From enabling hyper-personalisation to saving huge amounts of time on routine tasks, these new tools will fundamentally shift the way we interact with technology in our day-to-day lives.”
According to the company, the impact was already being felt in Sub-Saharan Africa, with start-ups developing solutions that have the potential to impact key socio-economic issues.
“For example, a Cape Town-based company created an AI system to assist farming consultants in Africa to identify problem areas in crops such as wheat, macadamia nuts, citrus and sugar cane.
“This technology will enable farmers to develop variable rate fertilisation application maps, predicting the yield of crops and identifying problem areas,” the statement read.
The company added that; “This is one example of how developing markets are adapting AI to address specific issues that are unique to regional challenges while taking advantage of the predicted mobile broadband growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Jumoke Akiyode Lawanson
