In implementing the recommendations of the Presidential Commission on 4IR , the newly appointed Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele in partnership with Prof Tinyiko Maluleke of the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and Prof Letlhokwa Mpedi of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) will, officially launch the TUT Hub of the Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa (AIISA) on Friday, 24 March 2023

TUT has responded to the call of the Department of Communication and Digital Technologies, for the University to put its expertise in artificial intelligence at the service of the digital advancement of South Africa. TUT is pairing with UJ which launched their AI hub in November 2022.

“The time has come for South Africa to join the digital revolution that is sweeping across the nations of the world”, Prof Maluleke said. “The work of the Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa is to bend the arc of the digital universe in favour of South Africa. This way, South Africa will stop becoming a consumer and a user of solutions and algorithms conceptualised elsewhere. Instead, South Africa will become the author and shaper of its own digital destiny”.

TUT has several AI projects that are linked to Government projects including AI capacity building for public servants, AI motor industry infrastructure enhancement programme, modernising public services, and AI in farming and food production, which will all be showcased at the TUT AI Hub launch.

These projects target three sectors of the country’s economy, namely 4IR in manufacturing (value chain), healthcare, and farming/agriculture and food processing (Agriculture 5.0).

Positioning South Africa as a global technological competitor.

“The AI Institute of South Africa (AIISA) has a great potential to help fight the problem of youth unemployment by imparting the much-needed modern skills that will turn them into job creators and shapers of the 21st century workplace”, Prof Maluleke said.

"The projects in place at TUT and UJ are already indicative of how AI can become the engine of economic advancement in various sectors. Through the formation of AIISA, South Africa is poised to become a significant player in the global Fourth Industrial Revolution. We are looking forward to this important launch of the TUT AI Hub” the Minister Mondli Gungubele said.