The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and the University of Nairobi (UON) led the pack of local institutions conducting artificial intelligence (AI) research last year, with 91 and 90 research publications respectively in the 12 months to December last year.
AI technology allows computers and machines to simulate human intelligence and problem-solving tasks.
The technology can be applied to many sectors and industries, including healthcare, manufacturing and the military.
A new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that the two institutions were distantly trailed by Kenyatta University (KU), the Kenya Medical Research Institute and Moi University, which published 51, 36 and 35 papers respectively during the period.
Others were Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, which published 24 papers, Strathmore University (19), the International Livestock Research Institute (13), the World Agroforestry Centre (11) and Egerton University with eight publications.
The revelation comes as figures from the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) show that Kenya received $15 million (Sh1.95 billion) in AI venture capital investment last year, dwarfing the $2.9 million (Sh377.9 million) transferred to Nigeria during the period.
According to the GSMA, the majority of AI use cases in Kenya are concentrated in the agriculture sector, which accounts for 49 per cent of all AI deployments, followed by climate action and energy use cases at 26 per cent and 24 per cent respectively.
Like other countries, Kenya is racing against time to embrace the new technology amid concerns about its impact on the human workforce and data security, among others.
However, tech analysts have identified several factors that they say could hinder the seamless adoption of the new age technology, including data scarcity, skills shortage, inadequate technology infrastructure as well as a lacklustre attitude among the populace.
“A key challenge will be getting the right talent of people who have properly studied AI so that we ensure that the models are properly trained in a way that they are ably equipped to perform the intended tasks intelligently,” Ken Okolo, head of commercial partnerships Middle East and Africa at UK-based Raspberry Pi Foundation, told Business Daily in a recent interview.
Other obstacles to AI adoption cited in the past include the country's low capacity for virtual storage, as well as increasingly outdated mobile technology.
