Professor Samuel Kojo Kwofi, Dean of the School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Ghana, called on the government to allocate a percentage of the national budget to developing artificial intelligence, saying such an investment would improve the quality of healthcare, narrow the gap between rural and urban healthcare and reduce poverty.
“Governments, corporate entities and funding agencies need to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) training, research and technology development to improve health and alleviate poverty,” he said.
Prof. Kwofie made the call during an online roundtable on “Artificial Intelligence in Health and Poverty Alleviation.” The session was hosted by the US Embassy in Ghana in partnership with American Spaces and Mobile Web Ghana.
Prof. Kwofie, who also works as a bioinformatics researcher at the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), University of Ghana, explained that his research group has fused artificial intelligence (AI) with vast amounts of biomedical data to create several open-source applications such as TubPred and EBOLApred, which aid in the search for new treatments for diseases, cancer and the Ebola virus. Another notable advancement is the creation of BuDb, the first Buruli ulcer drug discovery database.
They have collaborated with Professor Michael Wilson of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and other researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, to apply for a patent for mycolactone as a potential treatment for COVID-19.
His team’s ongoing research also includes developing applications for regenerative AI and diagnosis using medical imaging.
Prof Kwofie said heavy investment in artificial intelligence helped achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To support his argument, he highlighted key findings from his research and publications on AI and health, and cited robust infrastructure, supportive policies, and the establishment of AI ethics review committees as a comprehensive strategy to unlock the full potential of AI in Africa.
Prof. Kwofie called for the establishment of a national data centre and West African network for data-driven AI applications, as well as the creation of a National AI Network (NAIN) with centres of excellence across various institutions.
Other key takeaways included the need for training, scholarships, and efficient intellectual property and technology transfer mechanisms as key success factors, as well as the importance of developing an AI technology ecosystem including incubators, start-ups, and the National Centre for High Performance Computing (NCHPC).
Kwofie said the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) estimates that artificial intelligence (AI) could increase the continent’s GDP by up to $1.2 trillion by 2030, or 5.6% from current levels, while Goldman Sachs predicts that global AI investment will reach $200 billion by 2025.
Given Africa’s unique linguistic environment and varying levels of digital literacy, he called for culturally and contextually appropriate AI solutions, noting that there are enormous economic opportunities within the industry with potential benefits for poverty alleviation.