"Can Africa become the new Eldorado of artificial intelligence?"

Laure-Alice Bouvier is a lawyer at the Paris Bar and a doctor of law.

If artificial intelligence is unleashing passions today with regard to the new possibilities and opportunities that are emerging, it appears that Africa could well become a major pole in the race today crucial to machine learning and big data.

While most artificial intelligence experts are still largely concentrated on the American and Asian continents (to a lesser extent in Europe), the fact remains that Africa, with its native digital youth and very strong demographic growth, presents itself as an almost virgin ground potentially very promising for the development of artificial intelligence, which could prove dazzling. We are in the presence of a certain number of concordant parameters favorable to a real creative effervescence; A characteristic that has existed for several years already in several African countries and is likely to become widespread throughout the continent.

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Thus, in 2014, the Smart Africa alliance was created by the heads of state of 32 African countries. This alliance aims in particular to determine which orientations are to be favored in the field of artificial intelligence in order to lead to sustainable socio-economic development on the continent. Better still, in Lagos, the Data Science Nigeria center has set itself the goal of training one million Nigerians in data science by 2027. In the same vein, Senegal has set up an "Institute of Algorithms", bringing together aficionados and other digital enthusiasts. The "Africarare" metaverse aims to promote African culture within the global digital economy.

While the African continent is a breeding ground for the development of AI, there are a number of obstacles such as the lack of regulation.

Laure-Alice Bouvier

This new virtual world clearly marks its desire to offer a platform to emerging artists and the bet seems won in the eyes of the international community which shows a growing interest, so much so that at the beginning of June will be organized online the Africa Metaverse Summit. Could we therefore envisage that AI is a solution of hope so that Africa can finally find a real place within international geopolitics and the global economy making it the winner of the new industrial revolution?

In fact, while the African continent is a breeding ground for the development of AI, there are a number of obstacles such as the lack of regulation. While this lack of legislative and regulatory framework has a positive aspect, there are no obstacles that could prove likely to hinder the meteoric rise of the digital revolution. But on the other hand it is undeniable that there is a considerable risk of privacy breach due to massive aggregation of data.

And then, another risk is present, at least potentially, that of the eventual control of the process by powerful organizations such as Gafam and BATX. The latter have also fully understood the importance of establishing themselves in Africa. Google has inaugurated its first African AI research center in Accra, Ghana. It aims to solve economic, political or even environmental problems. In the same vein, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in South Africa offers a master's degree in artificial intelligence sponsored by Facebook and Google.

In the event that the African continent succeeds in imposing itself, it has the means, it is the geopolitical organization of the world that would once again be disrupted.

Laure-Alice Bouvier

We must also mention the establishment of the Canadian banking firm Proto. She understood the importance of implementing technology in Africa to automate and digitize most banking services, in a variety of local languages such as Kinyarwanda and Twi. Or the Africa Metaverse Academy, whose mission is to train Africans free of charge in the new challenges of digital technology, thanks to the initiative of the American firm Epic Games.

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On the other hand, many Africans are aware of the risk of being overtaken by the claims of powerful states or international operators. For example, South African Rachel Adams founded the African Observatory on Responsible Artificial Intelligence (OAIAR) last year to get African countries to consider what ethical artificial intelligence produced by and for Africa could be. The challenge facing Africa is daunting and its outcome is still uncertain. But it may well be that at the international level, in the coming years, the cards will be reshuffled when it comes to mastering the AI revolution. Indeed, in the event that the African continent succeeds in imposing itself, it has the means, it is the geopolitical organization of the world that would once again be disrupted.