JOHAN STEYN: Local AI tech can help Africans breach the digital divide
The language barrier prevents full advantage of the internet as major companies focus on the English capabilities of their products
21 September 2021 - 17:50
I was on a Zoom call but I could hear the little voices laughing in the next room. My son was proudly demonstrating to his friends his mastery of our Google Home smart speaker. I could hear the gasps as the artificial intelligence (AI) voice answered questions on the weather forecast and the time of the next full moon. A friend shouted, “Let’s try isiZulu.”
“Sawubona, unjani?” I could hear the device was taking longer than normal to respond. Finally a strange sounding accent announced, “Lutho oluningi”. By now the laughter was even more pronounced. “How do you mean ‘nothing much’?” One boy asked. “Ngangisiza na? Can I help you?”..
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