Staff on standby at the new emergency dispatch centre/KNAA few decades ago, only humans could play chess or read written texts; today, these tasks can comfortably be performed by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Today, researchers and learners are working on ambitious applications that will continue to revolutionise how people work, communicate, study, and even spend their leisure time.
With the rapid developments in the field of AI, discussions about the high-end tech’s potential and its impacts on our daily lives have permeated local cybers, colleges, schools, and even those living in rural towns like Nyeri.
Harriet Wambui, a local tech expert and cyber operator, said AI is a necessary evil whose time has finally come.
She urges its opponents to accept it and get the best out of it rather than dismiss it.
“Artificial intelligence is not just a buzzword; it’s a tool that can enhance our lives and make our day-to-day work easier if used responsibly,” Wambui said.
“Its applications can be applied by a farmer in Nyeri, where machine learning algorithms can help farmers predict weather patterns and optimise crop yields.”
Samuel Maina, an IT expert working in Nyeri town, reiterates that AI is a generational shift likely to shape the lives of many individuals and aid in solving a host of daily tasks.
He said humanity has evolved rapidly in terms of technology as a panacea to addressing modern-day challenges.
Maina cited the case of lawyers who are often time bound due to their strict schedules but who can easily retrieve an affidavit in a span of seconds by aid of AI and attend to their client without sitting down for hours with a pen and a book.
“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home, or correspondence. Many residents are apprehensive about the data collection practices associated with AI technologies," Jeff Kiragu, another IT expert, said.
“It is always important for people to know how their information and data is being used,” Kiragu said.
“What if AI takes over jobs that ordinary folks rely on?” Peter Mwangi, a 35-year-old businessman in Nyeri town said.
"I fear that machines will replace the hard work of many people in our community,” he said.
Anthony Maina, a software engineer working for a fintech company in Nairobi, warns that while AI is resourceful as a high-end tech tool, its use should be moderate to avoid overdependence.
He cited the case of students using the technology to write their academic papers as a case in point and says this could kill creativity among learners and lead to half-baked graduates flooding the job market.
“Today if you gave a student an assignment to write an article of 3,000 words, they will just use ChatGPT to write the article. Before the AI developments arrived on the scene, we had to think on our own and do handwritten articles. However, today, the education sector is definitely being redefined through this system,“ Maina said.
Engineer Maina recommends that AI developers should change their approach by looking for ways in which AI can instead enhance and complement students’ productivity.
This way, Maina believes AI can be a handful in attaining efficiency and productivity in areas like data analysis.
"Initially, the mentality about AI was that it is coming for their jobs, and people were worried. It is true that it is coming for our jobs, but we can use its advancement for creating opportunities for ourselves. We can use it to help solve some of the problems in society, people can come up with software and apps through technological advancements,” Maina said.
Maina said there is a need to protect the public from consuming stereotypes that come from the internet through public awareness campaigns in regard to dos and don’ts.
There have also been concerns on the issue of AI regulation on areas of data privacy and protection.
“Governance and ethics have to go hand in hand to ensure the safety of people’s private information and also security of classified information. The European Union tries to safeguard its people in the use of AI. Unfortunately, in Africa we are just consumers while the developed nations are the developers. All governments will have to play a big role in the regulation of AI, especially in the training of the models. There is a need for governance, but it mostly depends on the ethics of the users,” he pointed out.
There are also concerns about the technical expertise and prowess of the use of AI and whether there is inclusivity and diversity across all age groups.
