The following are the outputs of the captioning taken during an IGF intervention. Although it is largely accurate, in some cases it may be incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. It is posted as an aid, but should not be treated as an authoritative record.
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>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Welcome to the session on Understanding Digital Exclusion in AI Era.
My name is Millenium Anthony, I am from Tanzania, I am a founder of StemHer Network, but I'm also a coordinator for the youth IGF in Tanzania. But apart from that, I'm also an ITU generation connect youth envoy.
I'm excited to be monitoring today's session, and here with me on‑site are two speakers.
And then I also have two more speakers who are online. So will be giving the contributions online. And now I welcome the floor to my first speakers here onsite. They're going to introduce themselves, and then we can move to the speakers online; they can introduce their names too. Welcome.
>> DR. JOSE [CHAD] [gender issues]: I would prefer to promote gender issues. So if you can just, you know, go forward. This is all, (?) Please.
>> JAEWON SON: Hi. My name is Jaewon, I'm from Korea. I'm currently a Ph.D. candidate at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. I used to be a committee member of Korea Internet Governance Forum, and was also a founder of Youth State (?) Group in Korea. Nice to meet you.
>> Thank you so much. My name is Dr Jose Fisa D'avon (?); I come from Chad. I coordinated Chad Youth IGF. And I'm an advisor with African Observer Mission to the United Nations in New York. I represent NGO that's here today, United Nations, which has (?) Statute.
I'm very happy to be here today to discuss with you on the issue that reflects our realities and how to project ourself into the new perspective that ‑‑ AI in the use of achieving sustainable development. Thank you once again.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Okay, Beganim, from online, would you like to introduce yourself?
>> BENJEDID RACHAD SANOUSSI: Okay. Thank you. Can you hear me?
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Yes.
>> BENJEDID RACHAD SANOUSSI: Okay. Thank you, Millenium. Hi, everyone. My name is Bendjecid Rachad Sanoussi. I'm from Benin, but currently based in Morocco doing my Ph.D. in AI. I also work with ‑‑ working to increase ‑‑ and I'm so happy to be here to discuss about this topic with you all. Thank you.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Thank you.
Maxwell?
>> MAXWELL BEGANIM: Hi, everyone. Thanks for having me join you. My name is Maxwell Beganin, and I am in Ghana. I currently serve as the African coordinator for Anglophone Region for Open Knowledge Foundation Network. I also used to be a steering committee member for IGF, Youth IGF in Ghana, and also an executive member of the Internet Society Ghana Chapter as well. I am very happy to be here this morning. Thank you.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Thank you very much, everyone.
So before we move farther for discussion ‑‑ can you hear me? I hope you can. I can hear myself.
Before we move farther to our discussions, so we recently have been in these discussions about emerging technologies, we have all this AI, the computation of all these technologies and all that. But then we have been facing an issue that the the marginalised group, and let's say people from the Global South have been left out when it comes to merging technologies. There is this divide that is currently existing, especially when it comes to women, people with disabilities, also people who are living in rural areas. In this session today we are going to explore this now digital exclusion that is currently existing. Especially in term ‑‑ in relating to all these emerging technologies. And especially AI. So the whole discussion is going to resolve around that. So I'm going to be asking questions to my panelists. And they're going to be asking ‑‑ I mean, responding to different questions that I will be asking them.
So just to start with the discussion, I want to start with my on‑site speakers. Start with you, Jaewon.
In your opinion what is the most pressing challenge of digital exclusion in AI era, and how can we address it?
>> JAEWON SON: I think due to the global divide between Global South and North, I think without any conversation between Global South and North it's not only that Global South would not be able to process further and also bring more economic divide and so on.
So I was thinking that like more policies on technology transfer for example where the global north would bring some of the structure technology and helping them to understand how to use the AI skill so that there may be more workforce where they can utilize such technology and develop further into economic prosperity would be very beneficial in this case. And also I was thinking that one of the main challenges in this case in AI is that there are not much discussion between people and also technology companies that are making those technology where, when there is any agreement about how the data will be used and so on, usually it's between the companies and country, and there are not much discussion about how do we bring the policies to the different stakeholder and the public.
So I think there should be more discussion how do we involve all stakeholders including the public.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Thank you, Jaewon.
I want to move to you, Doctor. In 2023 we were expecting there to be the stainable development goals; right?
So how do you think AI can help achieve the SDGs while addressing digital exclusion especially for marginalised group?
>> DOCTOR JOSE [CHAD]: I think it's important to keep being optimistic, but from now 'til 2030, it's only six years, I mean, left so quite a challenge I'm saying. And when it comes to reflect realities in the Global South is quite impossible, to be honest.
But we are ‑‑ we have to work, I mean, very deeply in, for instance, investing in public sector, for instance. Investing in education, for instance, to give the possibility to local communities, to ‑‑ to have better education skills in digitalization, for instance, or even in different sectors: economy, house, creating ‑‑ I mean, jobs, employment.
But we have also to invest on ‑‑ on how to create infrastructure. Because you see how the North is working to ‑‑ to equip, I mean, very importantly at academic institutions and provide the needed, I mean, materials to younger generations to be educated. I mean, in the context of the current AI and all this innovation aspect.
So in countries like Chad, for instance, where I come from, we need to invest more into public aspect of development, for instance, contribute to create awareness, contribute also to regulate the use of digital devices. But also to protect, I mean, Internet users. Because it's important to create a safe place where Internet users can feel free to get to ‑‑ to be educated, or to work online, or to be consulted by any doctor or any institutions over the world.
It's important, I mean, to create safe space when it comes to ‑‑ how do you call ‑‑ to be educated.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: All right. So I want to pick up from the same point that you just said. You talk about employment. And so now I want to understand, now, we have all this rural communities. What do you think are the key challenges, let's say taking example of Chad?
What do you think are the key examples ‑‑ I mean, key challenges in ensuring that the AI tools reasonable even the rural communities that in Chad?
Like what do you think are the existing challenges?
>> DOCTOR JOSE [Chad]: I have the honour to discussion with ‑‑ ICT minister from Namibia, who is here. I'm very happy to meet her back again. We discussed about this issue several times. And it is a challenge. Because this one ‑‑ I mean, concern more our local loan use. We have communities that only speak the local languages.
While internationally we use devices or you know, technology into other languages, internationally recognized.
So first of all we need to create in terms of digital literacy content using our local languages for ‑‑ I mean to allow or to help communities to understand what the message is. For instance, I cannot explain someone from my community with an international intelligence means. It can be very difficult to get the word that I can use it to even explain what technology means. But these people, despite the lack of education, they have today smart phone, tablet. They use to ‑‑ they use WhatsApp, they use Facebook, for instance. They get to be online without knowing anything.
So it's important to develop our local languages. And via this we can create content that our languages are in the top of the ‑‑ of the programme. And create capacity‑building programme, for instance, even to do for those who have never been to school. Same for people of the third age. And younger generation, this is the most important. Because our governments and private sectors have to invest more into education by providing ‑‑ I mean, the materials needed; equip them; and then promote a very sustainable capacity‑building programme. Even to lecturers and students who are in research programme. Because these people are disconnected today from the reality. So how can we imagine it is ‑‑ it will be possible to teach those people who have never been to school, if we have not access to information, education, as a high level priority.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Wow. Thank you so much.
I think I can really relate to that. I like the point about much ‑‑ I come from Tanzania, from the record. And in my country we have almost 121 tribes. And each tribe have their own languages.
And our national language is Swahili, for example. Among those 121 we still have people who don't know the national language. So they don't speak Swahili.
So at some point if you would say some day we come with an AI tool that are in Swahili, for example, they wouldn't understand, because they don't speak Swahili. So we have been challenges of reaching the rural communities like having access to all this digital knowledge, this AI knowledge and all that. So I think there's really a big work that we have to do for countries like mine. Yeah.
I want to come to you, Rachad. So you have been having experience in ‑‑ I mean, technical experience in all that. So I wanted to talk about how can we ensure AI and other technologies can be designed well to ensure that there is inclusivity and accessibility?
Especially for underserved communities.
>> BENDJEDID RACHAD SANOUSSI: Okay. Thank you so much, Millenium, for the question. I also like the point of making it increasing because no ‑‑ in Africa we face a lot of issues when it comes to technology, and we need to have access to Internet; and many people don't have access to Internet. And also when we are talking about also access, we have a lack of available Internet infrastructure. So in some rural area, like in my country, in Benin, many people don't have access to Internet. Even those who have access to Internet, they just use it for social media.
So to address that, maybe we can set some committee network, maybe some low‑cost technologies that can help everybody to have access to Internet. So we need a lot of collaboration to accomplish that.
To come to your question now about how we can make AI more inclusive and accessibility for everyone, firstly we need to have access to internet. So access to the technology. Is why I was talking about making more infrastructure so that everybody can access to Internet.
So to ensure that inclusivity and accessibility really fit in our life today, AI and emerging technologies, we need to design them with a human‑centred approach. Like we need to put the human at the middle so that this technology can respect human rights. So this means we need to involve local communities and also users to design the system so that they can know how it works, and they can make contribution to design the application and also the technologies as well.
Like I can take one ‑‑ if we want to design an AI‑tool, we can support like use AI to translate like to translate our local language. We need to take in account the capacity of African culture. And also the social‑economic challenge. We are talking about Tanzania, you have a lot of tribes, same in Benin, same as Chad. So we need to take those in consideration when we are designing some AI tools as well.
So another aspect is more about how we can make AI to use less energy. So that it can be more green.
So when we are talking about AI sometimes, it's about a lot of algorithm and a lot of energy use. Need to be optimized for mobile device so we can access the involvement, and those AI too will be clean as well.
And also another thing we can do is to promote open source AI platform. So that everybody can have access to this platform and know how it works and also can contribute. And by doing that, communities especially in ‑‑ and start‑up can co‑develop a cost‑effective solution for specific issues we are facing in Africa, in other part of what is involved. So that will be my contribution. Thank you.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Thank you so much, Rachad. I liked the point when you talk about the human‑centred approach when we're developing all these AI systems. Was assuming ‑‑ if you assume the needs of someone without clearly understanding the needs that they really have, and then you develop solutions for them, it may not meet their needs because you have created something that may not be useful for them. So it's really important that we engage all these communities. Now we have talked about all these marginalised group. Have them in the room, understand their needs. Like what do you want, how can we assist to ensure that you guys are not left behind in all these discussions and all that.
So we are talked about all these challenges. Now I want to ‑‑ for you, Maxwell, now I want you to talk about the success stories. Can you share success stories where youth‑led initiatives have reached ‑‑ and improved inclusion?
>> MAXWELL BEGANIM: All right. Thank you very much. I think I'll just share my own success stories on some of the projects that I have led that ‑‑ and thank you to the wonderful three speakers that have spoken. I think I'm also so much educated right now.
Yeah. So when it comes to the success stories, I think it's important for us to understand the problems that exist, which is the digital divide in most of the communities that have had the opportunity to work with. Especially there's this project that I started with a colleague and it is called K‑Works for schools. So we realise that most of the senior high schools in Ghana, for example, had computers, but in the computers were not functional. And those that were also functional were just left abandoned. There were no software. There were no applications that students could engage.
And so we came up with this project called Computers For Schools. Where first we're going into the institutions and we train to understand the concept of digital literacy. We take them through just about an hour of digital literacy, how they can understand it, how they can also look at all the parameters of digital literacy. And as teachers, don't forget that we are custodians of knowledge. So once the teachers appreciate digital literacy, it becomes easy to transfer in their classroom.
So then after we then decided to do the installation of K‑Works, K‑Works actually is an offline educational resource that enables students to have access to content like Wikipedia, Ted and all of that.
So we also took an advantage of also training the students ‑‑ so because the students were very many, we decided to sample the class groups so they will serve as ambassadors or digital ambassadors to their other colleagues. And we trained them on how to use their digital literacy and K‑Works, and also had digital citizenship for them.
Now, we realised that based on just one that we started ‑‑ a lot of schools started reaching out to myself and my colleague to expand this project.
So we decided to do it in about ‑‑ in addition four other senior high schools. And it was gaining the traction. And I will share some materials later.
Then we decided that, no, the senior high schools cannot always only be the ones that benefit. And we decided to take it back to the basic schools where we trained them on digital literacy. Some of the schools that we actually went, they didn't even have computers.
But we also understand that once people have the understanding, it shifts their mind in thinking along that tangent. So that was also very important and a very good success stories.
As I told you, K‑Works have moved from Ghana to African region, and now we have been training ambassadors in various countries to also do some of this project as well. That is just one of the projects that we did in bridging the digital gap as well.
And also there is also a project called a life ‑‑ the Life Project that we worked on with Paradigm Initiative, and that was to also target atypical people, people that ordinarily do not have access to digital literacy or digital tasks, were able to mobilize people who have left school, people who are not more in school, or no more in school to train them to have some of these skills. And I think it was very successful project because now some of them are into graphic designing, some of them are into a lot of areas when it comes to digital divide. Because of time, these are the two fundamental or the two key success stories that I want to share with us all in terms of bridging the digital divide.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Wow. Thank you very much. Congratulations for the great work you are doing.
Now I want to open this few minutes to the floor.
If you have ‑‑ can you please share if you have in your specific countries, if you have policies that are helping regulate AI, AI in your countries; is there something like that that anyone on the floor that would like to share?
Anyone from the floor sharing from your respective countries, any policies that ensure that there is equitable access in AI; or maybe we can start, do you even have policies for AI in your countries?
No. Okay. So there is great work we need to do.
So maybe I can come back to you, Jaewon.
Now. Now, we have seen here, let's say from the floor, we ‑‑ my country we don't ‑‑ they don't.
So how can we ensure like international collaboration, help in ensuring that we have proper relations of like AI in our respective countries and all that?
Yeah.
>> JAEWON SON: Thank you. Yeah. In my university in Germany, even like why it's the first university that actually had the email server in Germany. But they also don't have any regulations about what is ‑‑ to use AI or in research or your studies or test. So I always thought like why ‑‑ like we are always talking about like we should have all the ‑‑ in AI, we should make them aware of it and so on. But what are the ‑‑ I don't know, the universities and like international organizations doing for them to know what is right and wrong?
I think in this case the international corporation or I would say the international alliance comes in hand where there should be a universal guideline and like regulations about how the people are knowing like what's okay and not to use AI, for example?
For example, I think yesterday in the youth session they were talking about AI in education so that while we talk about marginalised people who don't know how to use AI, however, are we ready for them to actually use AI in universities or in companies where like just providing the AI is not the end of everything.
However, I think it begins with the problem about the privacy and everything where we do not have actual like Internet governance ready for them to include for everyone, the end user having a right to say about how they use the data or not. So I think in that case international cooperation should really focus on first thinking of how to integrate for the end user and stakeholders in this governance. And second of all, having the proper like relations, have a universal guideline about how we deal with such a problem.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Perfect. Thank you so much.
I'm coming back to you, Doctor. You have done some research on AI; right?
I wanted to help me share examples where AI was successfully implemented to solve this digital exclusion.
Is there any instance maybe you can help us share?
>> DOCTOR JOSE [CHAD]: Well, very largely when it comes to achieve these ‑‑ for instance, benefitting from the use of AI ‑‑ for instance, in Chad we have (?) Tech, which is an initiative that provides support to the rural communities when it comes to ‑‑ I mean, assist them in social learning ‑‑ how they call issue, for instance, or when there is social crisis, for instance, we ‑‑ we intervene to ‑‑ to bring, I mean, resources or materials in to help the community.
So for instance during the crisis between Sudan and ‑‑ yeah, in Sudan, for instance, we have refugees that were in the border of Chad and were seeking for help. So we use it ‑‑ I mean, those drones to bring ‑‑ I mean, support today to refugees. But also in terms of education, we have initiatives that help, I mean, children to understand better alphabet or vocabulary, or even talk to people, for instance, in different languages using these tools.
So it's important to invest in this issue. Because we have so many challenges to address, and for that you need collaboration, because none of the stakeholder alone can act and address these challenges; only if we contribute together as one strong multi‑stakeholder.
I mean, so I call the ‑‑ even urge, I mean, the UN and its partner and our governments, I mean, to take this one into serious engagement. Especially in countries of the South. Is essential to align ourselves with today's realities when it comes to also tackle the ‑‑ one organisation, the challenges, we are a little bit far, and we only solve this with digital inclusion, for instance. And digitalization of the society.
Because I'm seeing the worry, in 10, 20 years perhaps will be having perhaps AI tools that will be able to give 100 or let's say 95 percent of consultation, let's say medical consultation, and even provide like prescription while in country. Of the ‑‑ developing countries, if you explain this to someone, it could be very strange. So need to ‑‑ to ‑‑ I mean, work a little bit hard to align ourself with the world and realities in addressing. Thank you so much.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Thank you so much, Doctor.
Rachad, now we have talked about all these challenges. We are seeing we don't have proper regulations when it comes to AI within our specific countries now. But we have also seen the divide that is currently existing between the rural communities and the urban communities.
So what do you think ‑‑ what steps do you think we can take to ensure that we are bridging the digital divide between the rural and the urban areas?
>> BENDJEDID RACHAD SANOUSSI: Okay. Thank you for the question. I think we have a lot to do. We have many issues when it comes to inclusivity. And from a technical specificity, I think we can maybe first ‑‑ because we need to have infrastructure first so that we can have access to the Internet and those technologies. So to do that, maybe we can also do community work.
You know, in Africa many country already do not have access to 5G yet. So we can also by extending the infrastructure working on 5G technology, or develop some satellite‑based Internet. We know that Starlink is growing in Africa, and it's sometime more affordable for some people in remote area.
So we can leverage on public partnership or public‑private partnership to do that as well.
After extending our infrastructure, we can also promote energy access. Right?
You know in some rural communities we don't have available electricity. And we talked about Internet and connectivity is more about access to electricity. If you don't have electricity, cannot have Internet.
So it's really crucial to have access to energy so that we can promote digital inclusion. And using also renewable energy, like solar and wind to do that.
I know that where it may be to have affordable device and solution, because the issues of ‑‑ is also issue, we need affordable device so that people can buy these device. And those device also can ‑‑ should be energy efficient device so that it will not use a lot of energy. And we can also do a lot of local content like localize the content in service. Like you know, we have issues about language barrier. So a solution should be more localized, and we can develop a lot of content when it comes to our local language on those technologies as well.
And we can also leverage on our communities to do that, like if you want to do the solution, we need to do it with our community so that we can employ the local youth and also encourage the entrepreneur to do a lot.
I see in the room we have many entrepreneur here. So it's really important as entrepreneur to build the solution we really need to our communities with them. Thank you.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Thank you so much, Rachad. And since we are out of time ‑‑ our time is almost over, now I want to go last to you, Maxwell.
So what do you think ‑‑ what role do you think young people can play in shaping AI policies and tools to ensure that they address the needs of diverse populations?
>> MAXWELL BEGANIM: Yeah. So I ‑‑ I think that this is a very important question. I think first we need to be very inclusive or in the design approach of all these policies around AI should be very inclusive where young people do not only participate, but are involved in practicing some of these policies as well. And I think that for young people to be able to also be included, then it comes to capacity building and capacity enhancement, how to even understand and leverage on the languages of AI as well.
You don't necessarily need to be a programmer or a developer, or have co‑developer to be able to understand it. Parameters within which the artificial intelligence or AI will extend, you would agree ‑‑ all agree that AI has come to stay. And so in order for young people not to be ‑‑ maybe I'll use this term as immigrant ‑‑ AI immigrant, they should be able to understand the parameters and should be also included in mainstream education for young people to understand. When we talk about AI, then young people cannot think around ‑‑ critically around some of the ‑‑ the use of AI as well.
So I think the inclusive approach is very important in participating and in order to allow young people to be involved. And even as at the high level discourse or at the high level plenaries and conversations around this we need to also get the inputs of young people in shaping the policies as well.
Yeah. So these are the thoughts that come ‑‑ come in mind. And also there should be programmes that would be structured in a way to also make sure that the capacity of young people are built to understand AI.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Thank you, Maxwell.
So now we have heard from our panelists, I want to open the floor again to my participants. Is there anything ‑‑ any questions that you have to the speakers, any contributions, something that you want to add from this ongoing discussion?
Yes, please.
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER: You mentioned a lot about young people. But I'm wondering, as opposed to the young population, what can we do to the old ‑‑ like the elder to make sure that they have equal access to AI or Internet?
Because a lot of older people nowadays, they have like ingrained ideology opposing AI. And they also ‑‑ due to their physical or cognitive issues, they have trouble getting access to Internet. And some of them are also lacking enough money.
So how do you think we can address that issue?
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: You want to respond?
Okay.
>> DOCTOR [CHAD]: Thank you for the question.
Well, for those who are professional I think is ‑‑ I think it would be a little bit easy to support, I mean, the process. Because we can just ‑‑ I mean, call companies to have like capacity enhancement programme to these professionals anytime there is a certification or any programme comes out. We can organise such capacity enhancement programme to ‑‑ to reinforce their capacities in certain subject.
But for those who are unprofessional, have never work, or don't have quite the education, we can work on digital literacy by creating, as we say, content using local languages to help them understand the use of these tools or ‑‑ I mean, the digital devices or ‑‑ or whatever programme that can help them, I mean, in their age.
Yeah. So that's why it's important to keep working very hard to use the programme that support younger generation to be very well educated and align ourself with today's realities or the 21st century realities in general.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Any one want to add? Panelist?
Okay. So I think ‑‑ but I think something that I wanted to add on, I think it's really important to understand, I would say let's say from my country, per se, we can't go directly and start introducing AI because there's still a very large group of people that are not digitally literate.
So they will have people that can't even turn on computers, they can't even do a simple Google search and stuff.
So I think at some point to help, let's say, with the elders in that kind of situation, we might need to start with the basics. So we can't go to AI if they don't even get the basics of computers. They need to understand the basic stuff, and then moving forward that will just be easier, I guess. Yeah. Any other question from the floor?
Any other contribution?
Yes.
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER: So thank you very much for these interesting contributions. My name is Floren Tuber (?). I'm a professor of law at the University of Zurich. So I come from a very privileged country.
But I think it might be interesting also for you to know that we also have minority languages. We have language in Switzerland which is spoken by less than 20,000 people. It's even split up in different dialects. They have difficulties understanding each other. So developing AI tools for these language groups is a huge challenge just because there's a lack of data and lack of users as well.
But maybe given that there are some countries that face similar problems, there is a chance to cooperate, you know, amongst continents on these I think very important issue.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Great. Very insightful contribution.
Yes?
>> PROFESSOR RON LOHAN [SWITZERLAND[: Thank you. My name is Ron Lohan, and I'm can a company called Identity Digital and Critical Infrastructure.
One of the things that I've been quite concerned about with AI and digital inclusion, especially in the area of languages, as the prior intervention was, I think we are now in an era of data poor and data rich languages. And I think if you look forward in the next five to ten years, AI systems which train on language sets are going to train disproportionately on data rich languages. We're going to need data poor languages to decide.
And I think if we don't take action now, we're going to start having the risk that the data poor languages will disappear from the digital infrastructure, and the people who speak and use those languages are also going to go away.
So I'm quite concerned about that.
Wonder if you have a perspective on it.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: My panelists, do you have any contribution on that?
>> MAXWELL BEGANIM: Well, it's not a contribution, but perhaps I can add a little more and ask your professor from Switzerland, because when I was in Leon during my Ph.D. programme, I used to go to Geneva where I were more connected with how they can set up programmes.
So do you think, Professor, that ‑‑ I mean, AI use, or let's say digitalization, can be an opportunity to develop minorities amid languages. I mean, the less digital spoken, I mean, let's say, languages. Because if we work on that, we have no choice only to create programmes that would develop these languages, add more vocabularies, create programmes that ‑‑ it's very limited, this vocabulary in this language.
So how do you think we can work on that?
>> PROFESSOR RON LOHAN [SWITZERLAND]: Thank you very much. And tough question. I'm not sure I do have ideas who to work on that. But I fully agree that's important groups, entering the ‑‑ but ‑‑ yes?
Okay. Because even right now they're at risk to be left behind, and there is simply a danger of these languages getting extinct. Because maybe as opposed to some of the South African countries that speak German or Italian on top, so they are able to communicate in other languages ‑‑ which raises the languages getting extinct. Produce the language into these technologies might be a means to promote it, and you know, give people chance they could make technologies.
So I think it's super ‑‑ no solution so far. I'm sorry.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Okay. Any contribution? Yes, at the back.
Can you please pass the mic at the back? Over there.
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER [MONAN?]: Thank you for an interesting presentation, I might say.
I think one of the aspects really is that I resonate with what y'all are saying. My name is Monan, a post doctor researcher with the Chinese Institute for Advanced Studies in South Africa.
So one of the issues ‑‑ I originally come from Zimbabwe, and one of the issues especially that we face in our country is that there's ‑‑ I don't know if I may say policy contradiction. Right? So the question is should we wait for government to actually introduce policy, or should we let the industry to lead?
Right?
I must say that especially within the media sector we already have AI robots. Right? And particularly from an institute called the CITE. Called the CITE, Centre for Technology Innovation. Right? Mainly a youth site. They already given opinion LLM for one of the main languages in Zimbabwe which is individual language. So that's one of the critical aspects that should we actually wait for government, because government is actually delayed. And for them to pass these policies, to pass these laws takes so much time. So we have these institutes actually developing these specific ‑‑ or going ahead with AI policy and all.
So in Zimbabwe as well, if I may say, that one of the resolutions in terms of consultations with Internet Use of the Media institute for Southern Africa was to sort of develop an afrocentric AI tools. Right? Some turned to robot. Right? So it's one of the critical aspects that perhaps we can take a lead from as well. Right?
But I must say that we're still far from actually developing policy. You know, considering the slow pace at which everything is actually going.
But this CITE, as I mentioned, has really taken a very critical role in actually developing this LLM within ‑‑ and including actually minority languages especially within that. We had an uproar recently as well. That the particular roles that ‑‑ could not even pronounce individual names, or African names. And there were a lot of people actually complaining around that. Right?
So I think coming up with this LLM would be probably assisting that as well. So that's my main contribution. And very interesting work that everyone is actually doing here as well.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Thank you very much, everyone, for the contribution. This is really an amazing discussion that's going on here. And we have less than five minutes. So allow me to please close the session. And I would like to tell my speakers to please tell me if you want to describe in a single word what would be the critical factor that would help in ensuring digital inclusion in AI? Like in one word?
What would be a factor that you think this is very critical for us to achieve digital inclusion in AI? Yes.
>> Education?
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Education.
Jaewon?
>> JAEWON SON: Public awareness?
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Public awareness.
My online speakers?
>> MAXWELL BEGANIM: Capacity.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Capacity.
Rashad?
>> BENDJEDID RACHAD SANOUSSI: Human‑based approach.
>> MILLENIUM ANTHONY: Human‑based approach.
Thank you, everyone. Thank you very much for attending and joining this session today. And we are looking forward to seeing you in other sessions. Thank you. Thank you to the panelists too.