SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION, PROF BLADE NZIMANDE AT THE SOUTH AFRICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION’S ROUNDTABLE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND HEALTH CARE, 29 NOVEMBER 2024

Topic: Developing local AI expertise and fostering collaboration between tech and healthcare sectors, with the objective of investing in the necessary infrastructure and prerequisite technologies to support AI deployment

Dr Mzulungile Nodikida, CEO of SAMA;

Government officials;

Heads of Research institutions,

Heads of Academic institutions;

Business leaders;

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for the honour of inviting me to come and share some my thoughts with you on the importance of artificial intelligence in supporting health care in our country.

Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate the South African Medical Association (SAMA), for what they have aptly referred to as a pioneering initiative. As part of my contribution to the specific topic I have been asked to speak on, I wish to reflect on several areas which I believe are important for a gathering such as this one.

The promise of AI in healthcare

The first issue I wish to reflect on is the promise that AI offers us in the area of health care. As we you may aware, AI offers us unprecedented opportunities in improving diagnosis and making fewer errors, as well as treatment planning, enhanced medical imaging analysis and personalised medicine.

It also offers us targeted therapies, streamlined administrative processes, leading to improved and more efficient healthcare services, and better hospital management practices, as well as improvements in efficiency and effectiveness in the planning the production of drug development, among others.

AI-powered systems will also help in facilitating preventive healthcare, and making more accurate predictions of demand, leading to more informed human resources practices. They also offer predictive analytics for population health management and powerful solutions for managing confidentiality in healthcare.

For instance, AI-powered systems enhance access control and authentication, using behavioural biometrics for continuous verification, and machine learning models can detect anomalies in data access patterns, alerting administrators to potential breaches in real-time.

Developing local expertise

The second is the need to develop local expertise. One of the best ways of ensuring sustainability of solutions and the production of new knowledge is by training new generations of scientists, researchers, and innovators.

To develop the appropriate number of skilled individuals in the area of AI, as a country, we need to do the following:

1.      Education and Training: Investing in AI-focused curricula at universities and technical colleges;

2.      Research Initiatives: Establishing AI research centres and funding innovative projects;

3.      Talent Retention: Creating incentives to keep our brightest minds in South Africa; and

4.      Continuous Learning: Developing programmes for healthcare professionals to acquire AI skills.

Fostering collaboration

The third issue is the importance of fostering collaboration. In this respect, we need to consider the following:

1.      Public-Private Partnerships: Encouraging joint ventures between government, academia, scientific institutions and industry;

2.      Interdisciplinary Approach: Bringing together healthcare experts, data scientists, and AI specialists;

3.      Knowledge Sharing: Facilitating conferences, workshops, and exchange programs. This gathering is a good example of this; and

4.      Regulatory Framework: Developing guidelines that promote innovation while ensuring ethical AI use.

Investing in infrastructure

The fourth issue is the need to develop the necessary infrastructure to support the development of AI. In this respect, we need to prioritise the following:

1.      Computing Power: Investing in high-performance computing facilities and GPU (Graphic Processing Unit) clusters;

2.      Data Storage: Developing scalable, secure data storage solutions;

3.      Connectivity: Expanding high-speed internet access, especially in rural areas;

4.      Cloud Computing: Using cloud platforms for flexible, scalable AI resources; and

5.      Edge Computing: Implementing edge solutions for real-time processing in healthcare settings.

Prerequisite technologies

The fifth issue I wish to reflect on is the need to develop technologies to support IA. In this regard, the following is essential:

1.      Data Management Systems: This is the implementation of robust systems for collecting, storing, and processing healthcare data;

2.      Cybersecurity: This is ensuring the protection of sensitive medical information;

3.      Interoperability Standards: This is the development of protocols for seamless data exchange between systems; and

4.      AI Platforms: This is the investment in user-friendly AI development and deployment platforms.

The DSTI’s initiatives to support the application of AI in health care

As the Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation, we are already implementing some of the interventions I have referred to. As part of our department’s commitment to advancing AI in healthcare, we have undertaken several key projects. These include;

1.      Multi-morbidity in Africa: This is a Digital Innovation, Visualisation and Application Research Hub (MADIVA), that aims to address multimorbidity in Africa through innovative data science techniques;

2.      AI-enhanced Wastewater Metagenomics: These focus on pathogen tracking for community health surveillance using machine learning;

3.      Enhancing Maternal and Child Health Outcomes: This is done through the enhancement the Umbiflow system with machine learning and statistical analysis tools; and

4.      Your Path: This focuses on using AI to support HIV health decision making. It specifically focuses on linking large language model analyses with digital vision analysis to improve cervical cancer screening.

Foundational Digital Capabilities Research platform

Our Department’s other 4IR related initiatives include the Foundational Digital Capabilities Research platform or the FDCR. This research platform focuses on building the foundational digital capabilities that are required to form the building blocks of application development and customisation across all of South Africa’s economic sectors.

Our entity, the CISR, is hosts our Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research or (CAIR). This is a distributed South African research network with 10 established and 2 emerging research groups across 9 public universities. It has been in existence in its present configuration since 2015.

As Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, I am particular proud of the work that is done by the CSIR in helping our country to address the health care challenges of rural communities.

You may recall that, in 2023, a group of young researchers from the CSIR showcased groundbreaking innovations aimed at improving South Africa's healthcare system in remote regions.

The CSIR is specifically helping in the development of diagnostic resources in rural areas by developing a machine learning-powered diagnostics system.

This technology combines cutting-edge machine learning algorithms to autonomously help medical professionals diagnose diseases with better accuracy and speed.

I am also proud to indicate that our Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research at the CSIR, also has two emerging research groups: Swarm Intelligence and Speech Technologies at Sol Plaatje University and University of Limpopo, respectively.

Having highlighted all this, it is important to recognise that all technologies exist in a particular socio-technical context, and we must therefore not underestimate the complex social, economic, ethical, and regulatory challenges that emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Cybernetics and others, present us with.

The emergence of new technologies has also reshaped the relationship between the state, businesses and society. We have seen for instance, how at the height of the global Covid 19 pandemic, governments, in particular in the Global South, found themselves at the mercy of powerful multinationals, who have a monopolistic control over the production of vaccines.

It is therefore imperative that we as South Africa and the African continent harness technologies such as AI, with the view to develop the necessary scientific capabilities in critical areas, so to reduce the possibility of a recurrence of the situation where an entire continent will once again find itself at the mercy a few multinationals.

Equally important is the need to develop robust national and regional legal and ethical frameworks to guide the development and application of AI, so as to prevent the unethical use of this and related technologies.

I also wish to suggest that the conveners of this Roundtable should also think about how AI and related technologies can be used to support the recently adopted Second Presidential Health Compact.

Under the leadership of President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa, this Compact provides a framework for cooperation between critical stakeholders in South Africa’s health sector, who contribute significantly to quality health outcomes.

In conclusion, as stated, Artificial intelligence and related technologies promise to transform healthcare and medical innovation in an unprecedented way. To unlock this potential, we need to develop local expertise, foster collaboration, and invest in the necessary infrastructure.

This I believe will enable us to build a thriving local AI ecosystem that will revolutionise healthcare delivery, address health inequities and position South Africa as a global leader in health technology.

Thank you.

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