It’s mango season in Kenya! It’s a time I eagerly await, not only because mangoes are among my favorite fruits but also because they symbolize the brilliance of nature’s balance—a single fruit embodying both sweet and sour. Words can hardly capture this harmony, much like how our sense of taste, an essential element of experience, remains absent in even the most advanced VR/AR technologies.

Despite strides in innovation, no one has yet developed taste-sensing gloves or taste-sensing Siri and the like in advanced AI tech usage.

But why draw a parallel between mangoes and AI?

Read on…

Reflecting on 2024: Key AI Developments and Global Shifts

From groundbreaking campaigns to transformative technologies, 2024 had no shortage of milestones.

I had hoped that technology companies might slow down their pace of development to give society time to adjust. At one point I wondered if the technology firms would let us take a breather… then again, there is a hidden AI race happening separately at both the country level and the firm level.

As for www.susanngatia.africa… may the best ones win…

Generative AI in Media

Did you notice the captivating Adidas floral campaign? … ( I loved it) The interplay between vibrant flowers and Adidas branding was an imaginative burst of color in an otherwise muted world. Generative AI played a significant role in producing cost-efficient and creative content. It’s remarkable how tools like these are redefining media production, providing creatives with unprecedented resources.

The Adidas team did some justice to AI tools that of late seem quite overstated but underused…

On the local front, Unga Farmcare’s Akishiba Utashiba campaign truly stood out. Dressed in humor and imagination, this initiative saw cows talk, dance, and share their message across digital, outdoor, and broadcast platforms. The creative use of AI in crafting visuals proved that embracing AI doesn’t mean replacing ingenuity; instead, it complements and elevates it.

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AI’s Expanding Influence Across Sectors

The integration of AI tools into every sector has accelerated, reshaping industries. From content creation and report writing to project management and specialized applications in agriculture and banking, the pace of adoption is astounding.

One fascinating development was blockchain’s role in agriculture market systems, an underexplored intersection of technology and farming. Efforts like these not only address inefficiencies but also reinforce transparency across the supply chain.

Reflections on AI’s Ethical Challenges

2024 wasn’t all triumphs. AI found itself entangled in contentious moments, such as its role in the Israel-Palestine conflict, where decisions regarding life and death raised significant ethical concerns. Additionally, a social media and internet outage further highlighted our reliance on interconnected systems, pushing some to explore new paradigms that transcend online frameworks.

On a lighter note, AI researchers made strides in reasoning systems, though the field faced tensions, particularly after ByteDance sued Li, a researcher, over his work. The ARC Prize competition for Artificial General Intelligence didn’t produce a winner but fostered important advances, especially with Li’s paper exploring induction and transduction for abstract reasoning (a very interesting idea, I must say). This development was clouded by the lawsuit, highlighting concerns over intellectual property and innovation in the AI space.

Sectoral Highlights

1. Generative AI Evolution

Generative AI tools valued at $44 billion in 2023 were projected to grow to $67 billion in 2024. Was the number achieved?

Key advancements included:

  • Transformer Architectures: Optimizations in model scaling and attention mechanisms.
  • Multimodal AI: simultaneous processing of text, images, and videos for human-like applications.
  • Efficient AI: smaller models for broader accessibility.

2. AI in Marketing and Communication

Generative AI has improved ad targeting, content scheduling, and immersive campaigns by nearly 25%, according to the Gartner Report. Tools like Google’s Performance Max and Adobe Sensei have enabled marketers to reduce wasteful spending while boosting results. However, trust issues remain, with 39% of respondents expressing skepticism about AI. Moreover, many marketers struggle to clearly demonstrate and quantify AI’s value within their organizations.

3. Precision Agriculture—For Market Development.

AI systems revolutionized farming through precision irrigation, pest detection, and crop health analysis. Innovations like autonomous tractors and real-time yield predictions brought a new wave of sustainability. Then we get a collaboration of AI, Blockchain, Robotics, and great minds from FarmSent.io

Farmsent operates as a blockchain-powered B2B marketplace that connects farmers directly with wholesalers, eliminating intermediaries. It enhances efficiency by using blockchain for transparent and secure transactions, providing traceability throughout the agricultural supply chain. This platform allows farmers to access fair pricing and reduces the risk of fraud while building long-term relationships with buyers. The marketplace also streamlines the process of purchasing and selling agricultural products, improving supply chain processes for both parties. Let’s see what the team develops over time; their use of the latest technologies for the betterment of farmers was a winner for me in 2024.

4. Healthcare Innovation

AI transformed healthcare diagnostics, drug discovery, and patient care. Systems like virtual assistants improved accessibility, while AI-driven supply chain management ensured efficiency in medical supplies.

Numerous projects have been seen in the sector… from TB detection through the use of AI systems to data aggregation and analysis Read the details: World Economic Forum

AI Governance and Simplification

The need for ethical AI took center stage during the international AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park. Global leaders pledged to tackle AI risks collaboratively, with debates intensifying around regulation, transparency, and accountability.

Consider this analogy: In Kenya, enjoying a mango is straightforward—in rural areas, we pick and eat them directly; in cities, we might wash them first. Now imagine a consultant mandating that mangoes must be thinned, shaped, and cut with a special subscription-based knife. While the goal remains simple—enjoying the mango—the process becomes needlessly complex.

Can we, as industry players, focus on making AI tools, agents, and developments more human-centered in our design process rather than building these enormous, complex systems?

Looking Ahead to 2025

As we anticipate 2025, my hope is for an AI industry that prioritizes intuitive, affordable, and meaningful tools. Progress must remain aligned with humanity’s needs, transcending mere sophistication to deliver genuine impact.

What developments or stories stood out to you in 2024? Let’s keep the dialogue alive and shape the future together!

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