According to a recent update of the Worldwide Semiannual Cognitive Artificial Intelligence Systems Spending Guide from International Data Corporation (IDC), global spending on cognitive and AI systems is estimated to reach $57.6 billion in 2021.
Tunisia is showcasing its desire to go beyond tourism and become an AI Hub in Africa and MENA region. The government is working on implementing the national AI strategy [1] and has defined a task force to oversee the process.
Moreover, the Ministry of Finance is in the process of undertaking fundamental reforms [2] in public finance management and detection of fraud through incorporating a mix of machine learning, big data and natural language processing techniques in their public financial management information systems.
A Tunisian ICT based start-up company InstaDeep raised $7 million in funding from AfricInvest and endeavors to expand the use of AI in the public sector by delivering AI products and solutions. With significant investment in AI-related training, Tunisian engineers have created a web-based platform that scans lung X-rays and evaluates whether patients are likely to be suffering from the novel coronavirus [3]. While it’s not the first initiative of its kind in the world, its creators say it is the first to be openly available. And though not a diagnostic tool, the technology provides a “90 percent” reliable indication of the probability of infection.
References:
[1] https://futureoflife.org/ai-policy-tunisia/
[2] https://www.giswatch.org/node/6192
[3] https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-04-tunisia-ai-x-rays-online-virus.html