AI’s Next Frontier Isn’t Where You Might Expect | Hardy Pemhiwa | TED (Level 1)

Many people ask if Africa is ready for Artificial Intelligence (AI). The answer is yes. Africa is a very large continent with 54 countries and 1.6 billion people. It also has a very young population. By 2050, 60 percent of the world's youth will be African. These young people are good with technology. Thirty years ago, very few people in Africa had telephones. Today, there are over one billion mobile phone connections. People use their phones to pay for food and bills. Now, they are using AI to solve big problems. For example, Yemurai is a young woman from Zimbabwe. She uses an AI assistant on her smartphone to do many jobs. In the morning, she teaches math to students. In the afternoon, she helps nurses identify diseases. In the evening, she helps farmers grow better crops. Yemurai is not a doctor or a teacher. She is an entrepreneur who uses AI to help her community. This creates jobs and solves the shortage of professionals. Companies are now building thousands of kilometers of internet cables to support this. Africa is using AI to help people live better lives.