Uganda Sets Up 4th Industrial Revolution Task Force; Not All are Happy
Under all the developing quantum computing technology, the applications to healthcare, energy development optimization, and secure communications, we still need food, shelter, and clothing. A bit of a sobering perspective. Qubit.
Uganda set to embrace artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, but biotechnology languishes
Excerpts and salient points ~
+ The nation has established a 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) Taskforce to advise the government on access, adoption, development and use of emerging technologies, including nanotechnology, quantum computing, robotics and biotechnology. But given the stagnation of the nation’s biotech crop efforts, some scientists worry that the current political environment isn’t favorable toward any new technologies.
Even as we talk about this revolution and advancement in technology, we must not forget that man’s basic needs remain food, shelter, clothes, and now education, locomotion and security. Technology, therefore, must be about serving these human needs.
+ The taskforce, established initially for a one-year period, is charged with looking at a wide range of new technologies. Those include:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Big Data
- Blockchain
- Robotics
- The Internet of Things (IoT)
- Cloud Computing
- Nanotechnology
- Biotechnology/Genetic engineering
- Quantum computing
- Autonomous vehicles
- 3D/4D printing
+ The new effort, however, maybe be motivated by recent scientific advancements by neighbors, including Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda. That doesn’t sit well with Patrick Rutimbanzigu Rubaihayo, a leading crop scientist, who has described policymakers as toying with these newer technologies, while dragging their feet on innovations that could change the nation’s agriculture system.
Content may have been edited for style and clarity.
