August 8^th 2018             By Cheruiyot Korir

Local entrepreneurs have been challenged to participate in Artificial Intelligence and machine-learning innovations to ensure valuable cultural and traditional values become part of technological developments in the country.

Cabinet Secretary for ICT Joe Mucheru said it is important to incorporate culture and indigenous knowledge in the design and building of software innovations to minimise risk of loss of community traditional values.

Speaking at a Nairobi hotel during a workshop by Salesforce Company  on Customer success in East Africa,  Mr Mucheru said, there is need for translation and transcription of African languages to others for preservation and development .

Mr Mucheru regretted that, Kiswahili and Afrikaan are the only languages transcribed yet there over 2000 languages in the continent. He said artificial intelligence and machine learning presented a huge investment potential and challenged local innovators to participate in their development and deployment to promote enterprises and preservation of the African cultural heritage.

The Cabinet Secretary said, the government will ride on technology to revolutionize the implementation of the big four agenda aimed at improving the standards of living for citizens. He said, technology would be deployed in manufacturing and agricultural sectors for processing, value addition, marketing and distribution.

Mr said that, despite growth in the economy, there were low levels of employment caused by automation and artificial intelligence taking up many services. He pointed out that, there is need for citizens to use big data for prediction and position themselves strategically in the fast changing cyber space.