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Inside Rwanda's Center for a fourth industrial revolution.
I received this note in my AAAS Policy feed this morning:
RWANDA LAUNCHES AI RESEARCH CENTER
Rwanda’s Ministry of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Innovation of Rwanda, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, launched a Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), which will focus mainly on artificial intelligence research and data policy. This is the first African country to have a center dedicated exclusively to these focus areas. Minister for ICT and Innovation Paula Ingabire expressed that “C4IR Rwanda’s approach is centered around multi-stakeholder collaboration, enabling it to gather input from a variety of stakeholders — private, public, civil society etc. —thereby helping to maximizing (sic) the effectiveness of its work.”
Rwanda’s Ministry of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Innovation of Rwanda, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, launched a Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), which will focus mainly on artificial intelligence research and data policy. This is the first African country to have a center dedicated exclusively to these focus areas. Minister for ICT and Innovation Paula Ingabire expressed that “C4IR Rwanda’s approach is centered around multi-stakeholder collaboration, enabling it to gather input from a variety of stakeholders — private, public, civil society etc. —thereby helping to maximizing (sic) the effectiveness of its work.”
Excerpts from the link above:
Rwanda is now home to the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, thanks to the collaboration between the government through the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, and the World Economic Forum.
The centre is one of the many operating across the world, working to promote emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and internet of things (IoT).
These are technologies that are advancing and changing the way the world does business in political, social and economic spheres, at the same time putting pressure on policymakers.
Take an example of unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones that supply blood to rural hospitals and healthcare centres in Rwanda, or a company like Babyl that enables people to consult doctors by just using a mobile phone.
On the other edge, you can also think of a firm like Blockbonds allowing smartphone users to transact and pay for goods and services using blockchain technology.
All that is happening in an environment where previously doing things the traditional way cost time, money, and even lives when you think of the previous hustle of carrying blood to patients in need in a country where infrastructure is poor.
It is what Alain Ndayishimiye, a Project Lead at the Rwanda’s Centre of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, says the country seeks to promote to reap more from such technologies.
The centre, he says, is an affiliate of the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network – there are some 13 centres so far across the world.
“The aim is to develop and implement technology governance and policy protocols that will accelerate the benefits of adopting emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence,” he says...
The centre is one of the many operating across the world, working to promote emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and internet of things (IoT).
These are technologies that are advancing and changing the way the world does business in political, social and economic spheres, at the same time putting pressure on policymakers.
Take an example of unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones that supply blood to rural hospitals and healthcare centres in Rwanda, or a company like Babyl that enables people to consult doctors by just using a mobile phone.
On the other edge, you can also think of a firm like Blockbonds allowing smartphone users to transact and pay for goods and services using blockchain technology.
All that is happening in an environment where previously doing things the traditional way cost time, money, and even lives when you think of the previous hustle of carrying blood to patients in need in a country where infrastructure is poor.
It is what Alain Ndayishimiye, a Project Lead at the Rwanda’s Centre of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, says the country seeks to promote to reap more from such technologies.
The centre, he says, is an affiliate of the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network – there are some 13 centres so far across the world.
“The aim is to develop and implement technology governance and policy protocols that will accelerate the benefits of adopting emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence,” he says...
This strikes me a very positive development in a country that's known much tragedy; a tragedy the world ignored.
It is great that these tools are appearing all over Africa.