Innovation is about solving real-world problems. Watch the full session on Applied AI & Systems:
👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Baw8...
See our full research archive and future roadmap here:
👉 www.dsfsi.co.za/blog/ai4d-25...
Join us next Thursday as we spotlight our Cybersecurity in NLP session! 5/
AI can also save lives and increase accessibility🖐️
🔸 Dinorego Mphogo is building frameworks for multilingual Air Traffic Control to improve aviation safety.
🔸 Thapelo Sindane introduced Dipolelo, a benchmark dataset for South African Sign Language to foster social inclusion 4/
Data is the backbone of financial trust. 📈
Miehleketo Mathebula presented a system to automate ESG data extraction from the messy, unstructured reports of South African organisations. This moves us toward more transparent, data-driven financial intelligence. 3/
Nontokozo Manukuza is tackling the "nuance gap." 🗣️ Large Language Models often struggle with the depth of isiZulu idioms. Nontokozo's work is testing how we can fine-tune models to capture cultural wisdom, not just literal translations. for accurate, culturally-aware response 2/
How do we move AI from the lab to the real world? 🌍 In our third retrospective post from the 2026 AI4D Workshop, we’re spotlighting "Applied AI & Systems." We’re applying NLP to aviation safety, financial reporting, accessibility, and cultural preservation. 🧵 1/
@UPTuks @AI4Dev
The technical gap is closing, one research paper at a time.
Watch the full technical rapid talks session here:
👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjwO...
Catch up on our research and join our community:
👉 www.dsfsi.co.za/blog/ai4d-25...
See you next Tuesday for Part 2: Applied AI & Systems! 5/ @AI4Dev
We also heard from Abebe Tegene and Penelope Matloga:
🔸 Abebe is innovating word embeddings to capture the unique morphology and tone of African languages.
🔸 Penelope is solving the "label noise" problem in code-switched data using noise-aware pseudo-labelling. 4/ @UPTuks
Next: Fiskani Banda on the failures of RAG systems. 🌾
When asking about South African farming, RAG models often hallucinate or latch onto irrelevant keywords. Fiskani is establishing best practices to ensure retrieval mechanisms are actually informative, not just thematic. 3/
First up: Tebogo Macucwa on creating lexical sets. 🧠
Tebogo is tackling the evaluation gap by developing "odd-one-out" lexical sets. This provides a new, semantic-focused way to evaluate how well African language models actually understand word relationships. 2/
How do we move beyond standard NLP to build systems that truly understand the richness of African languages? 🌍 In the second instalment of our 2026 AI4D Workshop retrospective, we’re spotlighting our "Core NLP Research" rapid talks. Technical and vital for the road ahead. 🧵 1/
Missed the discussion? Watch the full panel here and join the movement:
👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkbW...
Explore our full workshop archive & resources:
👉 www.dsfsi.co.za/blog/ai4d-25...
Join us next Thursday as we spotlight our PhD & Postdoc technical breakthroughs! 5/
We discuss the "last mile" of development: moving from academic prototypes to robust systems. From stalled language policies and cultural nuance to the necessity of treating indigenous language holders as co-creators, this discussion defined our roadmap for the next 18 months 4/
Our first panel, moderated by Prof. Chijioke Okorie @chythepenguide , featured:
🎙️ Dr. Mpho Monareng @unisa
🎙️ Jessica Mabaso @SADiLaR_ZA
🎙️ Puleng Plessie @JavettUP
🎙️ Dunisani Ntsanwisi
The takeaway? The "content pipeline" isn't just a technical challenge—it’s a social one 3/
We’re kicking off a 4-week retrospective! Every Tuesday and Thursday, we’ll be releasing key sessions and insights from the event. First up: "Bridging Research and Reality: The Content Pipeline." How do we build AI that serves our communities rather than extracting from them? 2/
Three weeks ago, we brought together a community of researchers, linguists, and legal experts at the @UPTuks for the @AI4Dev African Languages Lab Workshop. It was a day of uncomfortable conversations, shared visions, and a unified drive to close the digital language divide 🧵1/
The real question isn’t Do Africans want chatbots?
It’s: Do our technologies deserve African voices?
Let’s design AI that listens before it speaks — rooted in Ubuntu, co-created with our communities, and driven by generosity and shared purpose.
#AfriCHI2025 #AI #HCI #Africa #Ubuntu #DSFSI 4/
At DSFSI, we’re already building that bridge:
💬 Advancing multilingual NLP for African languages
🎙️ Collecting 3 000+ hours of local speech via the ZA–African Next Voices project
⚖️ Creating fair dataset licensing frameworks
🤝 Partnering with Masakhane, Deep Learning Indaba 3/
AI and HCI must meet in the middle.
AI drives scale and automation.
HCI ensures empathy, usability, and trust.
To make AI truly work for Africa, we need bridges between those who build and those who design for people.
#HumanCenteredAI #TechForGood #AfriCHI2025 2/
At #AfriCHI2025, our lead @vukosi.bsky.social asked a the question:
👉🏾 Do Africans really want chatbots?
For us at, it’s a reminder that Africa’s AI future isn’t just about building smarter systems, it’s about building technologies that listen, understand our languages, and reflect our values.
1/
For those at MBZUAI in Abu Dhabi, I will be giving a seminar talk tomorrow (13 Oct 2025)
Introducing Kesego Mokgosi: Visiting PhD Researcher with the AI4D African Languages Lab open.substack.com/pub/dsup/p/i...
New work out of the Data Science Law Lab at UP - @DataLawAfrica
Working to answer -> Are data scientists in Africa allowed to use copyrighted news broadcasts to train AI and develop technologies for local languages?
Watch -> youtu.be/p-zFzlbhUw4
Paper -> doi.org/10.1080/1360...
Huge congratulations again to Dr. Mpho Mokoatle on her PhD in Computer Science from UP! 🎓 So proud her groundbreaking cancer research and inspiring journey are featured by the Weekend Argus. Her work in DNA analysis for early detection is truly life-changing!
iol.co.za/weekend-argu...
My Inaugural Lecture is now online 🎥
Beyond the Symbols: Natural Language Processing as an Adaptive Problem
I reflect on my journey in advancing AI & NLP for African languages, tackling data scarcity, building communities & imagining inclusive futures.
👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwef...
Next was an excellent talk by @vukosi.bsky.social on natural language processing for low resource languages and the importance of Africans developing their own solutions at @dsfsi.bsky.social youtu.be/hwefANMnSxo?... (5/8)
Key message: AI in education must reflect the plurality of learners – their tongues, their stories, their right to be heard.
Computer science + education can (and must) work together to make this happen.
#AI #Education #UNESCO #AfricanLanguages @unesco.org
Our chapter – Ensuring Inclusive, Contextualized AI in Education – looks at:
* The promises and pitfalls of AI in classrooms
* Risks of excluding African languages & knowledge systems
* The need for grounded, community-led innovations
We’re excited to share that members of our Data Science for Social Impact Lab at UP contributed to UNESCO’s new global report: AI and the Future of Education: Disruptions, Dilemmas and Directions.
🔗 unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/p...
@unesco.org
The day began with the AI Policy Breakfast (Partnership on AI), connecting policymakers and researchers.
Day 4 proved once again: African AI is not only technically vibrant — it is leading on global conversations around policy, ethics, and equity. 🚀
Resources for those who want to go deeper:
📄 AUDA-NEPAD White Paper on AI in Africa: 1drv.ms/f/s!At9WNpyX...
🔑 NOODL License: licensingafricandatasets.com
🔑 Esethu License: aclanthology.org/2025.acl-lon...