KAMPALA: Victoria University is set to roll out courses in Artificial Intelligence and robotics.
Speaking at the university’s fourth graduation ceremony at the Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort last week, the Vice Chancellor, Krishna Sarma, revealed that they will be introducing the specialised course soon.
“The faculty is working round the clock to bring in real training possibilities in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, information security and computer forensics,” Mr Sharma said.
Once this is put into effect, the institution owned by Ruparelia Group will come off as the first university in the country to offer the said course.
Why Artificial Intelligence is a big deal to Uganda:
The emergence of AI has played a key part in ushering in a Fourth Industrial Revolution. According to the World Economic Forum, “it is disrupting almost every industry in every country.”
AI is a branch of computer science that aims to create intelligent machines. It has become an essential part of the technology industry.
The AI systems are critical for companies looking to extract value from data by automating and optimizing processes or producing actionable insights. Artificial intelligence systems powered by machine learning enable companies to leverage their large amounts of available data to uncover insights and patterns that would be impossible for any one person to tease out, enabling them to deliver more targeted, personalized communications, predict critical care events, identify likely fraudulent transactions, and more.
According to Harvard Business Review, companies in Uganda and across the globe that fail to adopt AI and machine learning technologies are fated to be left behind.
A number of universities in first world countries have already embraced AI courses.
The course is now taught in universities like Carnegie Mellon University (USA), Stanford University (USA), Harvard University (USA), Columbia University (USA), University of Southampton (UK), Anglia Ruskin University (UK) among others.
In Africa we have Wits University, University of Pretoria, University of Cape Town, University of KwaZulu-Natal, North-West University, and Stellenbosch University all in South Africa have tried to bridge the AI gap on the continent.
Why pursue the AI course?
By studying AI, students gain the mathematical and engineering knowledge to construct working machine learning and AI systems.
They learn how machines make sense of the world through intelligent signal processing.
Students also carry out a substantial practical project where they construct an AI system and apply it to a problem.
Advantages of AI:
Machines don’t require frequent breaks and refreshments as like human beings.
That can be programmed to work for long hours and can able to perform the job continuously without getting bored or distracted or even tired.
2. Day to Day Application
In our daily needs, a smartphone also becomes the 4th necessity for the human along with dress, food & shelter.
If you are using a smartphone, it indirectly means that you are enjoying the AI by knowingly or unknowingly.
Design the methods for automation by using learning and perception have become a common phenomenon in our everyday lives.
3.Digital Assistance
Highly advanced organizations already implemented machines on behalf of humans to interact with their customers by using ‘avatars’. It is the digital assistants or replicas which will help to reduce the need for human resources. For AI Machines, emotions only can be identified in the way of rational thinking.
Robots can’t identify the sentimental factor of the user. It actually programmed for only think logically and take the right program decisions based on the existing experience taught to the machine.
4. Handling Repetitive Jobs
Repeated jobs are tedious in nature. That kind of jobs can be easily handled with the help of AI algorithms. These kinds of job don’t require much intelligence in between the process.
Machines can think much faster than humans and can perform multi-tasking to obtain the best results.
Machine intelligence can be employed to carry out the dangerous tasks which may cause injury to the human involved in that. Their parameters can be adjusted is the benefit here. Their speed and time can be customized based on the requirement calculation.
5.Medical Applications
One of the great advantages of Artificial Intelligence is utilized in the field of medicine. We can identify the numerous numbers of medical applications which rely on AI.
Doctors/Physician assesses the patient’s health-related data and intimates the risk factors to the customers via the health care devices with the help of artificial machine intelligence.
It helps the patient to know about the side effects of different medicines and also behaves as personal digital care. Artificial surgery simulator is the great innovation part of the AI. The efficiency of that always prefers to utilize that simulator by the Professionals for the treatment.
6. Hazardous Exploration
Artificial Intelligence and the science of robotics are the fascinating advancements in technological development. Using this, we can able to handle the huge volume of data for storing and processing but not limited to as well as we can use that in the process of mining and other fuel exploration processes.
These complex machines can be utilized to overcome human limitations. We can utilize these machines as a replacement for the humans wherever we felt the process done by the human is hazardous but can’t neglect that because of the goodness or results received.
7.Reduction of Error
The advantage of Using Artificial Intelligence is, it helps us for error reduction and increasing the chance of reaching higher accuracy with a greater degree of precision.
It can be applied in various situations including the process called exploration of space.
