Accra: Professor Isaac Wiafe, a computer scientist at the University of Ghana (UG), Legon, has raised concerns over the delay in approving Artificial Intelligence (AI) curricula developed by research institutions, describing it as a hindrance to advancing the nation's AI Strategy.
According to Ghana News Agency, Prof. Wiafe highlighted during an inaugural lecture organised by UG in Accra that some AI curricula become outdated while awaiting approval.
He appealed to the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), the regulatory body overseeing tertiary education, to urgently address the issue. He cited the Computer Science Department's programme on some AI models, developed about three years ago when large language models were not predominant, as an example of the problem. By the time they were approved, they had become obsolete.
Prof. Wiafe delivered his lecture on the topic: 'Why AI is Irrelevant to Ghana: Reclaiming our Future through Human-Centred Transformation.' The lecture focused on emerging evidence from studies on technology adoption, digital inclusion, and AI awareness. He noted that the current AI ecosystem risked creating a new form of digital dependency, potentially leading to cultural homogenisation, marginalisation of indigenous knowledge, reinforcement of existing inequalities, and weakening of local innovation ecosystems.
He further stated that Ghana's ability to achieve a breakthrough in AI technologies reflecting society's needs cannot be achieved with the current delays in curriculum approval by GTEC. He emphasised that if Ghana is to transition from AI adoption to AI relevance, universities must not remain passive observers of the technology but rather invest in and initiate thought-provoking discussions.
Prof. Wiafe advised that although GTEC's blueprint is crucial for quality assurance, it must become more responsive to rapidly changing disciplines. He suggested that quality assurance should evolve from being a gatekeeping process to a more agile national mechanism to keep Ghana's universities relevant in the age of AI.
He underscored the importance of building research excellence in efficient model training, low-resource AI methods, domain adaptation, and evaluating local content. Prof. Wiafe warned that failing to build a talent pipeline in these areas could lead to a dependency on external expertise, regardless of the quality of the AI strategy.
In recent years, UG has collaborated with organisations including Google Research Africa on 'Project Euphonia,' a research initiative aimed at improving speech recognition technology for individuals with non-standard speech patterns. This project focuses on creating AI models that better understand and accurately interpret diverse speech patterns, particularly in local Ghanaian languages, to enhance inclusivity in communication.
The programme was chaired by Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana.