The advent of AI systems like chat GPT, Mid Journey, Dall-e, Bard etc, has made so many people curious and worried about the potential impact AI might have on their businesses and their careers. Many wonder if their job will still be around in a few years or if they will be replaced by bots that can do their jobs more efficiently.
Interestingly, every major shift in technology truthfully disrupts some domains and sectors and, at the same time, creates new categories and opportunities. The main focus of every individual involved should be on skill acquisition to stay relevant during and even after the disruption. The opportunities that come with disruptive eras are always immense and can only be explored by people equipped to participate in the disruption.
This is why the African AI Foundation and the American Spaces teamed up to train one thousand people in AI skills annually so that Africans can be more equipped to participate in the ongoing AI revolution. As it’s popularly known that Africa missed out on nearly all single revolutions to date, including the Agricultural Revolution, Industrial Revolution and even the recent Information Technology Revolution.
Most of the global $5 trillion IT market shares are held by American, European and Asian companies like Intel, Apple, CISCO, Google, Microsoft, Foxconn, Huawei, ASML etc, with Africa sharing less than 1% of the fortune. All the biggest revenue pullers in today’s IT revolution started exploring and tinkering with opportunities when people still didn’t fully understand the internet and its capabilities.
The AI revolution is currently at the 1990s stage of the internet revolution, and it’s being predicted to add up to $15 trillion to the global GDP by 2030. The mission of the African AI Foundation and the American spaces is to see Africa participate actively in the AI revolution and to grow its GDP by creating an army of Africans that will actively define the direction of innovation instead of simply observing as Africa used to. By actively participating, Africa is able to contribute to the direction of the AI emergence and adapt AI solutions to local problems only known to Africans.
The African AI Foundation is a non-profit social-good NGO created by Oyinlola Israel, an IT executive with 15 years of industry experience. Joined by a team of impact-driven AI experts and volunteers around the world, the African AI Foundation training is scheduled to happen annually from 2023.
The free AI Bootcamp organised by the African AI Foundation and the American Spaces will last for three months, with another month of hackathons. Every Saturday, classes will be held online starting from July 15th by 5 PM WAT, and those that may want to attend physically can go to the American Corner Ikeja at No 44, Local airport road, Ikeja, every Wednesday from 3 PM - 5 PM.
Also, the American Corner Ikeja is providing computer systems with Google Colab subscriptions to allow students to practice their AI skills learnt in the class. All resources provided by the American Corner can be accessed from Monday - Friday between the hours of 9 AM - 5 PM.
The future is for those that are able to create it, and the African AI Foundation with the American Corner is investing in lowering the barriers to entry so that almost anyone with the will to learn and continuously upskill can be relevant in spite of the brewing AI disruption. To enroll for free, go to https://bit.ly/join-ai-bootcamp and be equipped for success.
