Google unveils an AI research centre to fight food insecurity in Africa

Africa is the continent with the highest proportion of people and at least one in five Africans goes to bed hungry, and an estimated 140 million people in Africa face acute food insecurity, according to the 2022 Global Report on Food Crises 2022 Mid-Year Update.

As a result, in a bid to fight food shortages in Africa, Google has just announced the establishment of a new AI research centre. The global technology company made the announcement on Monday, joining a growing list of organizations that have pledged their support for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Digital project.

To help bring the SDGs back on track, the United Nations, the private sector, finance bodies, international organizations, and charitable foundations have pledged financial, strategic, and operational commitments to the SDG Digital project.

As part of the United Nations’ SDG Action Weekend, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organized a high-level SDG Digital event to increase digital support for the world’s 2030 Agenda.

Google, for its part, has announced the establishment of an AI centre focused on tackling food insecurity in Africa, as well as the awarding of $25 million in funding to 15 AI projects as part of its Global Goals Impact Challenge on AI for the SDGs, including those in Kenya and South Africa.

The Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA), Google, Microsoft, Millicom, Telenor, ZTE, the Republic of Korea, and the Government of Saudi Arabia have also made significant pledges to accelerate progress towards universal and meaningful connectivity, as well as long-term digital transformation.

According to the ITU, these promises build on over 750 others worth more than $32 billion collected since the commencement of the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition campaign in February 2022.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed said at the SDG Digital launch, “Digital technologies, when used safely and responsibly, can be catalysts of economic, social, and societal transformation by creating efficiencies at scale and expanding the reach of existing solutions to support more people.”