Innovative technology organisation, Next Step Foundation, has partnered with Assistive Technologies for Disability Trust (AT4D) to leverage technology to support individuals with disabilities in the global south.
The collaboration will see both companies addressing issues such as data accessibility and quality, capacity building, skills gap, and the ethical and social implications of AI.
Speaking at the launch event held Tuesday, 14th May, Philip Thigo, a distinguished member of the UN High-Level Advisory Board on AI, stressed the potential of AI in advancing progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thigo commended the efforts of local startups in combating inequality, particularly among individuals with disabilities and the elderly.
Thigo lauded Kenya on being “one of the few countries right now that is developing an AI strategy in a very inclusive way.” He added that the UN was working “to build strategy from a multi-stakeholder approach and ecosystem and we can only do that by looking at the enablers. And what do we need to enable the development of safe, inclusive, and trusted AI ecosystem? Part of that is data governance.”
He highlighted the UN High-Level Advisory Board’s commitment to promoting inclusivity, citing the interim report ‘Governing AI for Humanity’, which outlines principles guiding the establishment of global AI governance institutions. These principles encompass inclusivity, public interest, the centrality of data governance, and the importance of securing universal buy-in from countries and stakeholders.
On the part of Next Step Foundation, Executive Chairman, Christopher Harrison, noted that the organisation was positioned to facilitate the creation of high-quality annotated training data, and bridge the skills gap necessary to unleash the positive impact of AI in Africa. Harrison emphasized Africa’s current deficiency in both data and expertise required for the ethical implementation of AI.
Harrison believes that Africa needs “to take advantage of data” that is already in its fingertips “including data on agriculture, education, geography, etc. The first step towards bridging this gap is thus first digitisation. Once we have information available it is much easier even for people living with disabilities to utilise the data to make their lives easier and contribute more to society.”
The launch event also featured a showcase by Next Step Foundation’s incubated startups, including EZspeech, Seizure Assistant, Knock Knock, and Signverse, demonstrating innovative solutions aimed at enhancing accessibility and inclusivity through technology.
