3.1.2 AI Readiness Index in Africa Overall, the average AI readiness index for all countries in Africa stood at 26.91 which is still below the halfway mark (Gwagwa et al. 2021; Rogerson et al. 2022). Only Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and Tunisia recorded index values above 40 but none of them anywhere above 50. Generally, there is still a lot of need and effort to expedite the use and adoption of AI activities in Africa (Dwi Hadya Jayani 2019; Akello 2022; Rogerson et al. 2022). Therefore, based on the literature, the following summarizes the criteria that are supposed to be looked into to determine the AI readiness index of a country; (Adams 2022; Broadridge 2019; Sedola, Pescino, and Greene 2021; Intel Corporation 2018). In a nutshell, to assess the readiness of AI in a particular country the following five main criteria should be taken into consideration which include knowing the available strategy, staff, skills, systems, and structure for AI adoption and implementation as briefly described in Figure 2.
Staff: Includes Change Management and Cultural Read- iness which are important blocks for AI readiness. The organizations must ensure their goals, processes and culture are aligned with AI principles, interns of its adop- tions, use and development Skills: Includes Workforce Readiness and Skills Develop- ment. All countries should train their staff on technical, ethnical, and regulatory aspects of AI, as well as on how to intepret, analyse, and use data effectively AI solutions for making informed decisions. Systems: Includes Infrastructure and Computing Pow- er. The power of AI lies in its ability to process large amounts of data quickly and accurately, therefore, coun- tries preparing for AI readiness need to consider the in- frastructure requirements for AI along with computing resources. Structure: Includes Data Strategy and Governance. AI solutions are data-hungry, hence they rely on high-qual- ity data and responsible use, development and deploy- ment. Therefore, all countries should observe these Structure to serve as a key methods for guiding AI to reflect the values and goals of a country and African continent at large. Strategy: Includes Ethical and Responsible AI Practice and Collaborative AI Ecosystem. All countries should observe these Strategies towards AI adoption, use, de- velopment and implementation in order to accelerate social economic development of their country and Af- rica at large.
Strategy
Staff
Structure
AI readiness Criterias
Skills
Systems
Figure 2: AI Readiness Assessment Pillars
15
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker