Driving Responsible AI practices: Zindi and Microsoft partner to empower African AI talent

Africa’s largest AI community Zindi, recently partnered with tech giant Microsoft to upskill thousands of AI practitioners across the continent in Responsible AI. Through training of trainers and more than 30 community events across countries like Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya, Zindi and Microsoft taught more than 1000 students and professionals fair and responsible practices in the growing field of AI.

Problem:

As AI technology continues to advance exponentially, it brings a lot of opportunities, but also some significant challenges. One of the main concerns is making sure that AI systems are built and used responsibly, so they’re fair, clear, and can be trusted. But in many parts of Africa, people don’t know much about this topic or have the right tools to deal with it. This can lead to AI systems making unfair decisions, making existing inequalities worse, or spreading harmful content.

Solution:

Seeing this problem, Zindi and Microsoft teamed up to organise a series of training events to help people in Africa gain practical skills in the field of Responsible AI. At these events, participants were taught how to use Microsoft’s Responsible AI dashboard — a useful tool that helps make sure AI models are clear, fair, and work well.

People also learnt how to use Large Language Models (LLMs) and prompt engineering safely in their AI projects. LLMs are really good at understanding language, which opens up lots of new possibilities for solving problems. But it’s important to be careful when using LLMs, so they don’t accidentally create or spread harmful content, or cause harm through bias.

Impact:

By giving data scientists, programmers, and anyone interested in AI the tools and knowledge they need to use AI responsibly, this collaboration between Zindi and Microsoft is making a real difference in Africa. People will be able to create AI systems that not only work well, but also treat everyone fairly and make society better.

Paul Kennedy, Chief of Staff at Zindi, emphasised the significance of this partnership, stating, “Zindi’s ongoing partnership with Microsoft is a golden opportunity for our community to join the AI revolution currently sweeping the world. Responsible AI tools are not just a nice-to-have, but a necessity and a great benefit to modeling and coding efforts, especially here in Africa where resources and opportunities are not allocated fairly or equally.”

This collaboration in Responsible AI between Zindi and Microsoft is a big step forward in making AI more ethical and fair in Africa. Bringing together knowledge, resources, and different perspectives from all over the continent, while ensuring that AI technologies are deployed in a manner that is ethical, inclusive, and socially responsible ensures that AI is for the benefit of all in Africa.