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Prof. Delali Kwasi Dake, Head of the Department of Information and Communication Technology Education (ICTE) at ��ɫ��Ƶset the tone with an electrifying call to action. “We are in a new era of disruptive technologies—AI, blockchain, cybersecurity—and as a department, we are ready to embrace the change,” he declared to a packed audience of students, faculty, and Google representatives.

He highlighted the presence of the Google’s team and urged students to develop AI applications responsibly. “Very soon, I expect some of you to be experts in AI, shaping the world,” he said.

Dr. Augustine Monney, Director of ICT Services at UEW, traced his personal journey with AI, recalling his PhD days in 2016 under an AI expert in China. “I never thought AI would speed up to where we are now,” he admitted, marvelling at its current ubiquity—from personalised learning to autonomous vehicles.

He outlined four pillars of responsible AI: fairness, transparency, data privacy, and accountability. “If an AI mistakenly denies someone a scholarship, who is responsible?” he posed, challenging the audience to consider governance in AI deployment.

Adding a scientific twist, Prof. Arkoful Sam, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Science Education at ��ɫ��Ƶbrought chemistry into the conversation. “Why does a chemist need AI?” he questioned, before detailing how AI could eliminate hazardous manual lab practices like pipetting with the mouth. In his closing remarks, he raised an overlooked concern: environmental impact. “AI is not just about innovation—it is about equity and sustainability. Energy efficiency and e-waste reduction must be part of responsible AI,” he stated.  

Mr. Dennis Agyarko, Google’s Community Manager for Responsible AI in Sub-Saharan Africa, indicated that “AI is transforming lives, but it comes with deep responsibility.” Showcasing real-world examples, he emphasised that AI-driven microscopes reduce diagnosis times by 25% in Uganda, pest management applications empower Indian farmers and Project Euphonia assists individuals with non-standard speech.

He challenged students with an icebreaker—correctly answered by one who named John McCarthy as AI’s founding father—and stressed practical development. “Test your models rigorously,” he advised, citing ‘adversarial testing’ to catch biases, like ensuring ‘a boy drawing a gun’ yields a sketch, not a weapon.

Google’s commitment was evident in its promise of four months of free access to the Cloud Skill Boost platform, which was met with enthusiastic applause. With Google’s support and UEW’s determination, ��ɫ��Ƶis poised to lead Ghana into an AI-driven future—one where technology serves humanity, rather than the other way around.