• Kenya’s total value of investment in AI is estimated at KSh 13 billion
• Kenya was ranked fifth in Africa on the government’s readiness to embrace and implement Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is fast gaining momentum across the world with Kenya being among the countries showing its willingness to embrace it.
According to a new global survey, Kenya, a technological advanced country has been ranked fifth in Africa on the government’s readiness to embrace and implement Artificial Intelligence in the delivery of services to the public.
Kenya achieved a score of 40.36 percent which placed it behind countries such a South Africa, Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco in the 2022 edition of the annual Government AI Readiness Index which was released by Oxford Insights.
In the worldwide ranking, Kenya was placed at position 90, making it one of the countries preparing the ground for expected disruption using the new technology.
Yeiyo.com understands Kenya posted a dismal score of 28.76 percent which is below the world average of 35.17 percent on the technology sector pillar that examines the availability of requisite skills to enable AI adoption.
It should be noted the mentioned reports came at a time AI is gaining traction globally.
According to analysts, the AI technology would help a great deal in areas such as boosting education outcomes through personalised learning, disease control and weather forecasting if the right set of skill base was developed in Kenya.
“AI might be the medicine the continent needs to root out problems and inconsistencies in education. Indeed, the fact that African languages were suppressed in favour of European languages as a strategy to separate thought and speech, Africa now has the opportunity to begin the process of decolonizing education,” Kenya’s Ambassador to Belgium Bitange Ndemo.
Yeiyo.com has learnt Kenya’s total value of investment in AI is estimated at KSh 13 billion.
The amount does not come close to much developed countries such as South Africa which stand at KSh 165.8 billion and Nigeria’s 60.3 billion.
This is according to Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence in the Middle East and Africa Outlook report.
