S. African university seeks to collaborate with peers to build AI infrastructure

South Africa's University of Witwatersrand (Wits) would like to collaborate with African researchers in their recently formed AI Africa Consortium to study artificial intelligence (AI) and innovation, said Vice-Chancellor and Principal Zeblon Vilakazi on Wednesday at the AI Expo Africa 2021.

He invites Africa's research community to join AI Africa Consortium, which aims to develop a collaborative network focused on the advancement of AI and the application of AI in research and innovation.

He believed that AI and machine learning (ML) "offers huge opportunities for development and progress in Africa".

"For us to fully participate in the 21st Century, we must use this 'scientific renaissance' to drive innovation and foster the growth of a strong scientific ecosystem. In doing so, we can play an active role in achieving true progress and help steer the socioeconomic trajectory of the African continent," said Vilakazi.

He stated that they would like to bring large-scale AI infrastructure capacity and world-class expertise to the African universities, research institutions, researchers and industry collaborators.

"We embark on these great undertakings because we remain optimistic about the future of our country and our continent. There are huge opportunities to create economic activity and solve problems drawing from AI and ML. This will guarantee the future of our society for generations to come," he said.