The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has opened the Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development (AI4SD) mini conference to share data, challenges, and successes in navigating AI tools for development.
The conference will examine how artificial intelligence can be designed and deployed to be context-aware, inclusive, and sustainable, directly supporting the development of goals that define the future.
It is organised on the theme: “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
The AI4SD’s vision has been to cultivate an ecosystem where research meets real-world applications.
It is implemented by the KNUST, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Université Paris-Saclay and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), with support from the French Embassy, International Development Research Center (IDRC), and AFD.
Professor Jerry John Kponyo, AI4SD, Project Lead, observed that “we stand at a pivotal moment in history, where the tools we build can either widen the gap between the privileged and the underserved or bridge it”.
He mentioned that in the past year, the AI4SD project had aggressively pursued solutions across critical sectors in agriculture and food security by developing a Crop Disease Detection Toolbox and a Smart Indigenous Weather App (SIW).
These tools are designed to boost farmer productivity by placing advanced predictive capabilities directly into the hands of those who feed our nation.
It has farm demonstration projects underway to study plant disease in real-time, bridging the gap between the laboratory and the field.
Prof Kponyo mentioned that in terms of health and well-being, the project was developing AI-powered solutions to determine rare diseases in newborns and also created the MiG Tool for cross-modality imaging to improve diagnostic accuracy.
Again, the project team has released the SignTalk-Gh Dataset, a collection of over 10,000 Ghanaian Sign Language videos representing over 4,000 structured sentences in healthcare interactions.
This is data that would allow deaf patients to communicate more effectively with doctors in general consultations, mental health, and beyond, truly embodying the spirit of reducing inequalities.
He added that the project was tackling environmental challenges by deploying AI sensors to monitor chemical stability and remove toxic heavy metals from water bodies polluted by illegal mining.
In the energy sector, the team was collaborating with the Ghana Grid Company to use AI to predict transformer faults, ensuring a more reliable energy supply for the economy and in education, the team has established 15 Robotics Clubs in less privileged Senior High Schools across Ghana and donated 45 laptops to enhance their training.
Prof. Mrs Rita Akosua Dickson, Vice-Chancellor, KNUST, called for continuity in the project and urged stakeholders to embrace the programme beyond its initial phase.
She said it was very strategic and smart to leverage emerging technologies including AI, to reap the benefits to achieve the SDGs before 2030.
Mr Julien Lecas, Head of Cooperation at the French Embassy, noted that supporting the AI4S was about creating the conditions for shared work and learning.
