Artificial Intelligence In Education: Africa’s Prospects and Challenges

The application of AI (artificial intelligence) in education is not something new as it might appear to be because it has already been integrated in learning and education services for several decades. During COVID-19, Africa, like the rest of the world was faced with challenges associated with the emergence of the pandemic, such as lockdown and social distancing imposed by the WHO (World Health Organisation) to contain the spread of the disease. The lockdown and social distancing resulted in the closure of social spaces such as education institutions and public places. To counter these measures brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure that businesses continue, organisations immediately turned to remote working using the power of AI tools (UNICEF 2022). In fact, this was the first evidence of a mass application of AI tools to ensure that learning continues in both developed and developing economies (cf. Georgescu & Popescu 2015).