AO: This MIT Technology Review post describes the machine learning community on the continent and places companies like IBM front and center of these "blossoming" communities. There is an important critical labor and tech training component to be unpacked here.
The article quotes Cisse who founded and directs the African Master’s in Machine Intelligence, a one-year intensive program that operates learning programs around the region: “The main resource for doing research is talented people, and you will find more talent in Africa than anywhere else. The energy for tech here is just amazing. The question is how do you equip those talented people with the skills so that they own the transformation of the continent and build their own future?”
Karen Hao, "Hao, Karen. 2019. “The Future of AI Research Is in Africa.” MIT Technology Review (blog). June 21, 2019.", contributed by Angela Okune, Research Data Share, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 15 April 2020, accessed 8 July 2025. https://www.researchdatashare.org/content/hao-karen-2019-“-future-ai-research-africa”-mit-technology-review-blog-june-21-2019
Critical Commentary
AO: This MIT Technology Review post describes the machine learning community on the continent and places companies like IBM front and center of these "blossoming" communities. There is an important critical labor and tech training component to be unpacked here.
The article quotes Cisse who founded and directs the African Master’s in Machine Intelligence, a one-year intensive program that operates learning programs around the region: “The main resource for doing research is talented people, and you will find more talent in Africa than anywhere else. The energy for tech here is just amazing. The question is how do you equip those talented people with the skills so that they own the transformation of the continent and build their own future?”