Prof. Jerry John Kponyo, Principal Investigator and Scientific Director, Responsible Artificial Intelligence Lab (RAIL), wants integration of Artificial Intelligence in the public sector to drive economic transformation.

“Let us fully commit to making AI a national priority with an AI-driven economy,” he said.

Prof. Kponyo said a National AI Strategy, an AI Council, AI Labs and Digital Innovation Hubs will be crucial in this direction.

In collaboration with GIZ, the Data Protection Commission (DPC) organised a residential training for members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications.

Prof. Kponyo highlighted current AI projects at RAIL KNUST in Health, Agriculture, Energy and the Ethical and Responsible Use of AI.

“Under health, RAIL is working on AI for rare disease diagnosis, AI-powered hearing aid, AI-powered wheelchair for the disabled and AI-powered assistive device for the visually impaired. The crop disease toolbox helps farmers detect crop disease and gives remedies in the local dialects. RAIL is enhancing electricity consumption prediction in remote villages and reviewing and redeveloping the FACET framework,” he explained.

There is also the RAIL Robotics Club for the JHS/SHS initiative and the SHECodes club initiative for female students at KNUST.

Prof. Kponyo was worried that most of the data utilised to train these models come from Western sources, which creates bias and lack of inclusion in AI solutions.

He therefore advocated the need for Afrocentric datasets in large language models.

He added that “It is important to explore innovative ways to reduce the cost of AI solutions while maintaining their effectiveness and reliability, ensuring AI benefits everyone, not just the privileged few.”