Slowly reaching across the globe, artificial intelligence (AI) is on the move. Whether you find yourself a little wary of the thought of a robot’s potential to make you redundant from your office job or you’re excited for a curated playlist to match your coffee order, artificial intelligence is likely to have a formidable role in the future of developing countries, medical assistance, and poverty reduction. In Tanzania specifically, citizens often battle malaria, dengue fever, and cholera. 

Artificial Intelligence Is Helping Humans in Tanzania

According to a review from Science Direct, artificial intelligence has the potential to improve and increase the outreach of health systems in Tanzania. Studies were run throughout the country to monitor machine running; specifically artificial intelligence was used in these studies to note the prediction and diagnosis of diseases and the transportation of vaccines. The study concluded with a note that AI-based innovations in Tanzania could assist in “improving health service delivery, including early outbreak prediction and detection, disease diagnosis and treatment, and efficient management of healthcare resources in Tanzania.” 

Increase in Market Value, Job Opportunities, and Education

Because AI in the Healthcare sector is predicted to grow so steeply over the next 10 years, it is likely that new professionals and developers will spend time in Tanzania, leading to an increase in the market; specifically, the market is expected to grow to “$57.63 million, registering a CAGR of 46.12% during the forecast period of 2022-2030”. One of the greatest challenges for bringing Artificial Intelligence into full swing in Tanzania is the country’s scarcity of AI professionals; while this is an ongoing hurdle, increased access to education and technology may emerge as a by product of the new industry, 

Identifying Poverty Hotspots 

Next, AI is helping humans identify vulnerable regions in need of basic human services, all over Africa. From a method developed by Stanford engineers, AI creates a birdseye view that estimates poverty locations and the development of those regions over an extended period of time. Here’s how it works: “The tool scans daytime and nighttime imagery and human infrastructure such as roads or housing. In this way, the government can know where to allocate more effort.” Essentially, AI is helping humans breakthrough in poverty mapping as the technology uses images of areas in the daylight vs. under the “intensity of nighttime lights” to ultimately transfer this information into poverty predictions. It did this by constructing “filters” associated with different types of infrastructure that are useful in estimating poverty. 

Women’s Health Breakthroughs

Finally, AI is helping humans in Tanzania, women in particular, through advanced, time-efficient screening. For example, the Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre is diagnosing and treating cervical cancer through an artificially designed analysis of Pap Smears. It then recognizes “abnormal cells and assists doctors in making more accurate diagnoses”. Similarly, at Tanzania’s Muhimbili National Hospital, artificial intelligence is taking the form of fashion.  Wearable artificial-intelligence-based devices have been made to monitor pregnant women with hypertension and diabetes, allowing healthcare professionals to detect and manage any potential complications”. 

Artificial intelligence in Tanzania is a sure sign that it is possible for artificial intelligence to help humans and to lead to breakthroughs in business markets, health, and poverty. 

– Kaitlyn Garrett
Photo: Unsplash