Hardy Pemhiwa

Because we didn't have bank accounts to protect.

And that's why AI models that are trained on African realities are more robust, more efficient, and more inclusive.

So I'm going to go back to my initial question that I've been asked by so many, including some that I've met during this conference.

When will Africa catch up to the AI revolution?

I'm sure you agree with me

that whilst we sit here in this conference talking about AI ethics, in Africa we are deploying AI to serve the many and not the few.

We are optimizing AI for impact and not for social media clicks.

30 years ago, the experts on Africa said it would take 50 years for Africa to have the kind of mobile telephony that we have.

And they estimated that it would require $50 billion to do it.

Well, I have news for you.

70% of the mobile money transactions that are going to happen in the world today are going to happen on African soil.

And guess what?

Africa is ready to do it again.

We want to make AI inclusive, accessible, relevant, and affordable.

Because the future of AI is not just going to be written in Silicon Valley.

The future of AI is going to be written in the Silicon Savannah in Kenya.

It's going to be written on the streets of Lagos.

It's going to be written in thousands of villages that some of us have never heard of.

There are millions of Yemurais out there that are writing the future of AI, solving problems that we didn't even know existed, building a future where AI amplifies human potential instead of replacing it.

In London, they are worrying about whether teachers are going to lose their jobs because of AI.