ISTOCK
Africaisfinallycatchingupwiththerestoftheworldintheartificialintelligence(AI)revolutionandZimbabweisnoexception.“Acrossthecontinent,fromGhanatoZimbabwe,thistechnologyhasthepotentialtobringmyriadpositivechangesinsectorssuchashealthcareandfinance,bridgingthegapbetweenphysicalinfrastructureinadequaciesandconsumerdemands,whilefreeingupmoretimeforskilledlaborandincreasinglaborproductivity,”saidLexiNovitskeis,PrincipalInvestmentOfficerofSingularityInvestments,aLagos-basedinvestorinearly-stagetechcompaniesinSub-SaharanAfrica.
McKinsey&Co.,anAmericanworldwidemanagementconsultingfirm,predictsthatupto30percentoftheglobalworkforcecouldbedisplacedby2030becauseofadvancesinAIsuchasrobotics,digitizationandbigdata.
However,despitethisprediction,theZimbabweanGovernmentisadamantthatAIcouldplayanimportantroleinthecountry’sdevelopment,spearheadedbyChineseassistance.
“Chinahasprovedtobeourall-weatherfriendandthistimearound,wehaveapproachedthemtospearheadourAIrevolutioninZimbabwe,”saidChristopherMutsvangwa,formerZimbabweanAmbassadortoChina,whoisnowthespecialadvisortothecountry’sPresidentEmmersonMnangagwa.
MutsvangwasaidthecountryhasrecentlyreceiveddonationsoffacialrecognitionterminalsfromCloudWalkTechnology,acompanybasedinsouthChina’sGuangdongProvince.ItmarksthefirsttimeChinahasenteredtheAIfieldinAfrica.
Thesmartwayforward
Mutsvangwasaidthefacialrecognitionterminalsarecurrentlybeinginstalledatallthecountry’sborderpostsandpointsofentryforsmootherpassengerprocessing.
However,hesaidthatthebenefitsdonotendthereastheprojectwillhelpthegovernmentbuildasmartfinancialandbankingsystem.
“AnordinaryZimbabweanprobablywon’tbelievethatyoucanbuyyourgroceriesorpayyourelectricitybillbyscanningyourface,butthisiswheretechnologyistakingusandasthegovernment,wearehappybecausewearemovingwiththerestoftheworld,”saidMutsvangwa.
Zimbabwe’sMinisterofInformationCommunicationTechnologyandCyberSecuritySupaMandiwanziranotedtheChinesefirmwillpartnerandtrainlocaldeveloperstogrowthecountry’sinformationandcommunicationtechnology(ICT)sector.
“TheChinesearehelpingustogrowourICT.Thesoftwaretheyareusingisintegratedwiththefacialrecognitionhardwarewhichwillbemadelocallybylocaldevelopers,”saidMandiwanzira.“ThankstotheChinese,Zimbabweisgoingtobetheleaderin[thefieldof]facialrecognitionsurveillanceandAIsystemsinAfrica.Thecountry[has],foralongtime,beeninneedoftechnologytoimproveefficiencyatitspointsofentrytohandlelargevolumesoftraffic.”
FacialscantechnologyisalreadywidelyusedacrossChina,bothasamethodofpaymentandinthefieldofsecurity.
InAprilthisyear,ZimbabwesignedanagreementwithCloudWalkTechnologythatsawtheChinesefirmprovidefacialrecognitionforsmartfinancialservicenetworks,aswellasintelligentsecurityapplicationsatairports,andrailwayandbusstations.
TheagreementwasreachedwhenZimbabweanPresidentMnangagwapaidastatevisittotheAsiancountryinAprilandformspartofChina’sBeltandRoadInitiativeinAfrica.
Techchallenges
“TheZimbabweanGovernmentdidnotcometoGuangzhousolelyforAIorfacialrecognitiontechnologies;ratherithadacomprehensivepackageplanforsuchareasasinfrastructure,technologyandbiology,”saidCloudWalkCEOYaoZhiqiang.“ThedifferencesbetweentechnologiestailoredtoanAsianfaceandthosetoanAfricanfacearerelativelylarge,notonlyintermsofcolor,butalsofacialbonesandfeatures.”
CloudWalkTechnologyhasalsorecalibrateditsexistingtechnology,similartoTranssion,throughthree-dimensionallighttorecognizedarkerskintones.
Byoptimizingcamerastobetterhighlightthefeaturesofpeoplewithdarkerskintones,TranssionhasbecomeatopplayerinAfrica’sfast-growingsmartphonemarket.Thecompany,basedinShenzhenofGuangdongProvince,whoseproductsaresoldundertheTecno,itelandInfinixbrands,controls40percentoftheAfricanmarket.
Chinaisbuildingoneoftheworld’smostcomprehensivefacialrecognitiondatabases.
TheZimbabweanGovernmentisalsoworkingwithChinesesurveillancefirmHikVisioninapilotsmartcityprojectinZimbabwe’sfourthbiggestcityMutare.TheChineseGovernmenthasacontrollingstakeinHikVision.
SinceZimbabwelauncheditsLookEastpolicyin2003aftertheU.S.andEUslappedeconomicsanctionsonthenation,Chinahasbeenprovidingassistanceinareasoftechnology,miningandfarming.
ThisassistancehasseenZimbabwelaunchitsfirsteverspaceagencyinJulythisyearwiththefocusonusingsatellitetoadvancegeospatialscience,earthobservationandsatellitecommunicationsystems.
TheZimbabweNationalGeospatialandSpaceAgencyisexpectedtoenhanceagriculture,wildlifeconservationandmapping.Thecountryisnowemployingdronesurveillancetoprotectitswildlifefrompoachers.
“Theagencywilldeploynavigationandobservationsatellitesystems,geospatialandspacetechnologiesforbetterfarming,wildlifeconservation,infrastructuremanagementanddiseasesurveillance,”saidPresidentMnangagwa.
UniversityofZimbabwelecturerandprojectleaderCalebMaguranyangasaidthecountrywasgratefultoChinaforprovidingthecountrywithtechnologythathasreducedthecostofsendingasatelliteintospacefrommillionstotensofthousandsofdollars.
“Gonearethedaysofspacebeingaccessibleonlybyagenciesbackedbybudgetsofbilliondollars,”Maguranyangatoldalocalpublication.
Zimbabwe,whichwasravagedbyyearsofeconomicdecay,iscatchingupandembracingtechnologytobenefititspeople.“We[also]needtotakecitizensinruralareastotheinformationhighway,”saidMandiwanzira.
**ReportingfromZimbabwe
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