Tunisia’s first public AI institute to start its work soon

Tunisia’s first public institute that specialises in artificial intelligence (AI) will start its work at the University of Tunis when the next academic year begins in September.

Moncef Boukthir, the minister of higher education and scientific research, announced the development at a seminar on 16 and 17 April themed ‘AI for a resilient economy’, according to the ministry’s Facebook page.

Boukthir indicated the need to broaden the areas in which AI can be used in Tunisia while, at the same time, ensuring that it is used ethically and that citizens’ personal data are protected.

He stressed that the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research is committed to promoting Tunisia’s 2035 vision aimed at promoting a knowledge-based society through the development of artificial intelligence programmes in various Tunisian institutions, while taking full advantage of the ability demonstrated by Tunisia to train qualified resources in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

He reiterated Tunisia’s call to the international community to sign a memorandum of agreement committing all signatory countries to ensuring the safe and positive use of AI.

Boukthir’s view is supported by a 2023 study titled, ‘Artificial Intelligence and the Sustainable Development Goals: An exploratory study in the context of the society domain’, that noted how the responsible, safe and ethical usage of AI can contribute positively to achieving the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that aim to reduce poverty, protect the environment and ensure prosperity for all.

The 2023 Artificial Intelligence Readiness Index (AIRI) ranked Tunisia 81 out of 193 indexed countries.

Among the top five African countries included in the index,Tunisia ranked fourth after Mauritius, Egypt and South Africa, and followed by Rwanda.

The index, issued by global consulting firm Oxford Insights and the International Development Research Centre, measures governments’ willingness to use AI technologies by assessing their governance, infrastructure and data management, skills and education, and government and public services.

Challenges

Professor Mohamed Jaoua, the dean of the Pristini School of AI, the first private AI institute in Tunisia, welcomed the launch of the new AI institute.

“I believe AI is going to permeate the whole of society and [will not] just [be used by] the experts and, therefore, we need to figure out an appropriate pedagogy to teach AI to everyone,” Jaoua told University World News.

“This is one of our main concerns at the Pristini School of AI. But, as with every disruptive change, the most important challenges will probably be the ethical and societal ones.

“We need experts who understand these challenges so that they can deal with them properly. Education is the key, and, moreover, a proper education,” he stressed.

“This is the reason why we focus on fostering multiple and various partnerships – with industry, start-ups, research labs and similar universities internationally – to benefit from innovation at a global level, and then act locally to overcome these challenges,” said Jaoua.

Expanding further, Professor Sami Hammami, the former vice-president of the University of Sfax in Tunisia, told University World News: “The idea of creating a public institution dedicated to the training of graduates who specialise in artificial intelligence is quite original.”

He welcomed the training of graduates at the cutting edge of new technologies to promote technological start-ups and meet Tunisia’s economic, industrial and technological challenges.

“Indeed, we cannot think of the future of nations without a new approach that combines human intelligence and technology. This institution should fill the void currently observed in the university system in Tunisia,” Hammami stressed.

According to him, there are engineering schools that provide training in artificial intelligence in different disciplines, but without specialising in the field. Computer scientists and mechanical and electrical engineering specialists, for example, use artificial intelligence as a tool with multiple purposes.

“However, relevant educational content which combines theoretical and empirical knowledge with trainers equipped in the field is needed,” Hammami pointed out, adding that a framework to this effect has certainly been presented to the DGRU [Direction générale de la rénovation universitaire] but it remains to verify the choices of the university and the accreditation commission in this area to decide on the correctness of the new orientations.”

Hammami said AI was not specific to a particular field, which was why its learning is both difficult and opportune. AI also carried risks, since it could be the start of the substitution of human work by machines, but it also presented opportunities in technical efficiency, which could come with ethical and moral challenges.

“Of course, teaching should take these aspects into consideration, otherwise there is a risk of training AI specialists without any real intelligence,” he said.

Regional role for the institute?

Béchir Allouch, a technology professor at the Virtual University of Tunis, told University World News that Tunisia is able to play a pioneering role in AI training in the region and on the African continent.

Allouch, who is also the former president of the Tunisian Association of e-Learning, said: “The new institution would benefit from establishing itself as a centre of expertise in AI at national level as soon as possible. It should not only work at the level of the University of Tunis, by capitalising on the skills of all the country’s institutions.

“The new institution will have sufficient resources to contribute positively to the dissemination of AI in society ... and to address the challenges and opportunities associated with the use of AI, in particular in contexts such as those in the Global South where we need to build inclusive systems and this needs engineers and other IT professionals, but also domestic champions aware of local contexts and needs related to the building and deployment of AI systems,” Allouch pointed out.

XN Iraki, an associate professor of data science, innovation and technology management at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, told University World News: “AI is the next frontier and such an institute, along with other regional centres, are a positive step forward to help Africa to get a firm footing in her quest to apply AI for good.

“These types of AI institutes must focus on teaching the applications of AI and educating the next generation about the possibilities and limitations of AI as well as removing fear and myths about AI and carry out research on how AI can leapfrog Africa into the post-industrial age, along with focusing on how communities can collaborate to get the most out of AI,” Iraki said.

“As with other innovations, Africa must not be left behind,” he said.