Writer: Zinhle Dlamini
Pictures: Supplied
Professor Daramy Kallon, Associate Professor at the University of Johannesburg
While fears that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will replace jobs are real, new opportunities are also emerging. Across Africa, educational institutions are already reshaping curricula for an AI-driven future.
Professor Daramy Kallon (53), Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Technology at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, has extensively researched the status and progress of AI in Africa. He points to Sierra Leone as a country making early strides.
Two of its universities—Njala University and the University of Sierra Leone—already offer AI/data-science electives. Research shows that 92% of sampled students use AI tools in their coursework.
The government, through the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), is also boosting AI adoption by supporting home-grown projects, student startups and public-sector collaborations. This includes investment in campus connectivity, innovation labs, digital skills and experimentation spaces.
“These academic initiatives are critical because they supply the data scientists, developers and domain experts that industry and government will need,” Kallon says.
Results are visible: university students are now collaborating with clinicians at Connaught Hospital to develop low-cost diagnostic chatbots.
In Cameroon, the recently launched National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS) projects that AI could add 0.8%–1.2% to GDP by 2040. The plan includes training 60 000 AI experts by 2040—40% of them women—creating 12,000 jobs and producing 12 sovereign AI solutions.
Universities are already innovating: Buea and Ngaoundéré are developing DigiCare tools to improve infectious disease detection and management.
Yaoundé, Douala and Maroua universities are using stable internet to boost engagement and academic performance.
Bamenda University has deployed DenseNet-201-based AI tools to improve sign language communication.
National and international partnerships further drive adoption.
Cameroon Days of AI and South Africa’s Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (PC4IR) keep AI at the centre of national priorities in most African countries.
Artificial Intelligence Cameroon and UNESCO foster ongoing AI and machine learning research in Cameroon.
South African universities and startups are pioneering fintech, healthtech, and agritech applications.
Professor Kallon himself contributes to AI’s educational future.
“I am developing systems that enhance face-to-face learning in universities and those that anticipate 5-12 years learners’ needs in Sub-Saharan Africa. I have also proposed an intelligent Multi-Agent System for Learning (MASIL) for South Africa and Anglophone West Africa.”
He believes the future of work will not only see automation but also new categories of employment in AI engineering, data science, ethics, policy, and regulation.
“The future is bright,” he says.