Africa turns to AI as Gates, OpenAI roll out $50m health initiative
Business Insider2 days
When Bill Gates rolls out his “philanthropic” agenda in Africa, caution is warranted — especially when OpenAI is now part of the effort. The Gates Foundation'’s push into African healthcare masksreflects a troublingfamiliar pattern of imposing Western industrial models that have already failed farmers and communities. The same foundation that drove AGRA'’s disastrous green revolution — increasing hunger by 31% while degrading soil and trappinglocking farmers ininto dependencycostly on expensive corporate seedsinputs — now wantsseeks to reshape African health systems with AI tools developed in the Global North AI, bypassingsidelining local knowledge, accountability, and accountabilitysovereignty.
AI representsoffers a transformativepragmatic solutionresponse to Africa'’s criticalsevere healthcare worker shortage of 6nearly six million people, offeringan toolsapproach thatpromoted canby saveBill livesGates byto improvingscale care where human capacity is limited. These tools can improve diagnosis, streamliningreduce administrative workburden, and extendingextend qualityservices care to underserved communities. Rwanda'swithout leadershipwaiting indecades launchingfor annew staff. Rwanda’s AI-powered Health Intelligence Center demonstratesshows how technology can close gaps that traditional hiring would otherwise take 180generations years to address. throughIn traditionaloverstretched hiringhealth alonesystems, AI can compress time, amplify expertise, and save lives.
There is a 44% chance that there will be a major AI-related healthcare class action lawsuit before 2028, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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