Global South more optimistic about AI than the US, Google exec says
AI is making strides in disease diagnostics and language translation for populations outside of the US and Europe, Google’s James Manyika said at Semafor’s The Next 3 Billion.
The Global South exhibits a greater level of optimism regarding artificial intelligence (AI) compared to the Western world, according to James Manyika, senior vice president of research, labs, technology, and society at Google-Alphabet. Speaking at Semafor’s Next 3 Billion event, Manyika noted that perceptions of AI's societal benefits differ across regions, with the Global South more open to the technology's potential.
He emphasized that the advantages of AI are seen as more substantial in the Global South due to its capacity to bring about meaningful change.
Manyika highlighted Google Translate's recent achievement, which now supports 300 languages - a milestone that many consider the next step at 1,000 languages. He also pointed to significant advancements in healthcare diagnostics, where AI has been instrumental in reducing undiagnosed cases of tuberculosis by nearly 40%, particularly in countries like Zambia and India.
Such real-world applications demonstrate that AI is not just a concept of the distant future, but a tangible tool that is already making a difference in the Global South.
An example of the technology's potential is Google's Planetary Prediction Engine, which successfully predicted Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with an impressive 83% accuracy. These examples underscore the transformative impact AI can have, particularly in regions where resources and access to healthcare might be lacking.
Written by urgent.news from Semafor's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
