SO... WHAT IS A.I, REALLY?

There are many misconceptions about what Artificial Intelligence. is. We’re here to try demystify those for you and demonstrate how AI might be applicable to your world.

Frequently asked questions

HOW AI IS SHAPING INDUSTRIES

So what is AI?

AI or Artificial Intelligence is the study of how computers can learn to interact with the world in useful and interesting ways. Interactions are almost always limited to a singular task like reading or guessing your favourite of something or identifying objects in pictures or grouping similar things together. Computers learn about a particular task through examples we give it (data). It then forms it’s own understanding of how those examples are made with mathematics and statistics (which is what we call a model). It is a show, test, correct, repeat, process. Very similar to the way we might teach a child.

We have an array of models of the world that allow machines do all sorts of things from flying aeroplanes, to quantifying risk, helping plants grow or making funny photo filters.

Is AI going to take over the world?

Science fiction films often portray AI as a scary robot (see Terminator) that is out to destroy humanity. This is not at all what AI is like in real life. AI does not have will or intent – it is simply a computer that follows instructions. So no, it is not going to take over the world.

The scary part about AI (and any technology for that matter) is that the people who wield it may not have good intentions, or will have good intentions but come to harm people through misuse. This is especially true for groups of people who are not represented in those building the AI.

This is where Lelapa AI comes in. Lelapa AI is part of the Africa-wide effort to ensure that Africans are designing and building contextually relevant technologies for Africans.

Where is AI used?

AI is used in any situation where decisions need to be made based on many different varying factors. For this reason, AI is used in all fields: Art, Finance, Agriculture, Economics, Healthcare, Energy, Engineering, Marketing, Education, you name it, it’s there.

In your everyday life though? Simple examples of artificial intelligence are autocorrect and predictive text on your cellphone. Google Search uses an AI to smartly find you webpages. YouTube uses AI to recommend videos according to your preferences. The ability for Siri to interpret what you’re saying is also enabled by an AI model. And the loan on your house and the interest rate on your car likely involved some AI models too.

What are some of the things that AI could do in Africa?

AI can help predict infrastructure outages to assist with maintenance planning. It can allow us to communicate better across cultures through translation and text-to-speech. It can help increase access to healthcare, by enabling low-cost mobile health services or through drug discovery for diseases most prevalent on the continent. AI could assist in diagnosing and determining the extent of crop disease or soil nutrient deficiencies to help manage crop yields. It can help bring down the cost associated with enabling mass market access to financial solutions. There are so many uses for AI on the continent! And Lelapa AI can’t wait to help you solve these problems.

AI is a valuable tool across multiple verticals. Let’s discuss how it can assist your industry

Agriculture

AI has been used in agriculture for yield prediction, farming automation, insect and plant disease detection and monitoring, intelligent spraying and aerial surveying. It has also been used to help small scale farmers with financing and insurance.

Finance

AI is used widely in finance from microfinance for small-scale customers to fraud prevention for the largest banks in the world. AI is also used to create sustainable insurance products, improve loan underwriting as well as reduce financial risks.

Healthcare

AI is transforming what is possible in Healthcare. It is powering methods of remote diagnosis and treatment of patients, supercharging drug discovery capabilities and allowing researches to discover insights hidden in medical data.

HOW CAN A.I SHAPE “YOUR” INDUSTRY

We’re interested in understanding what use cases might be important to your business, but we understand that figuring that out is not always an easy task. We’re here to help and build it together