The representational gap is the real bottleneck. Without local-language data, off-the-shelf models fail on comprehension, not compute. Data strategy must come first: language identification, curating domain corpora in working languages, and treating representativeness as a procurement gate.

Africa has 2,000+ languages, yet fewer than 6 in every 10,000 pages in Common Crawl, the web archive most AI learns from, are in an African language. 🌍 Part 1 of our new AfirkaLLM series: where the data comes from. 🧵 @vukosi.bsky.social 1/

"Africa has no shortage of AI talent, groundbreaking research or innovative ideas. So why do so many promising AI innovations never make it into the hands of the people who need them?" Dog-fooding but for African tech with Vukosi Marivate | On What Terms?

Dog-fooding but for African tech with Vukosi Marivate | On What Terms? | Episode 2

Africa has no shortage of AI talent, groundbreaking research or innovative ideas. So why do so many promising AI innovations never make it into the hands of the people who need them? In this…

youtube.com

The Deep Learning Indaba is, and always will be, its people 🌍💡 @deeplearningindaba.bsky.social Reflecting on #DLI2026 at Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos, Nigeria, I wrote about what makes this community unique and why its travelling nature matters. Read the post 👇 www.vima.co.za/2026/08/18/t... 1/

The Deep Learning Indaba is, and always will be, its people [post Deep Learning Indaba 2026]

During the Mutapa Empire, which encompassed parts of what are now Zimbabwe and Mozambique, the royal court, the dzimbahwe, moved from place to place rather than remaining in a single location. As i…

vima.co.za

Webinar Invitation - Sunflower 2.0 -- Scaling Multilingual speech and text LLMs to 67 African languages, Dr Ernest Mwebaze, SunbirdAI Date: 3 September 2026 Time: 15:00-16:00 PM SAST RSVP - forms.gle/G6m3zsLUqxWK...

Flashback to our last seminar | 🤖 Is AI Shaping Our Future—Or Are We Shaping AI?

🤖 Is AI Shaping Our Future—Or Are We Shaping AI?

As Artificial Intelligence rapidly moves from theory to reality, we face a critical question: How do we ensure these systems serve the public interest while managing the immense uncertainty of their…

youtube.com

AI is moving fast | #AI4Good Panel with Yoshua Bengio, Vukosi Marivate, Joëlle Barral & Yutaka Matsuo

AI is moving fast | Yoshua Bengio, Vukosi Marivate, Joëlle Barral & Yutaka Matsuo

Four of the world’s foremost AI scientists. One moderator from the generation that will inherit their decisions. Yoshua Bengio, Vukosi Marivate, Joëlle Barral and Yutaka Matsuo, members of the UN…

youtube.com

1/🇳🇬 The countdown is on for #DLI2026 in Lagos, Nigeria! The @dsfsi_up lab is heading to the Deep Learning Indaba (2–7 August 2026). Here is a thread of where you can find our team, research, and workshops throughout the week! 👇 www.dsfsi.co.za/blog/dsfsi-a...

Next was a compelling talk by Shaimaa Lazem on community-centered practices for African language digitization at @dsfsi.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoLM... (7/8)

Decolonising AI: Community-Centred Practices for African Language Digitisation | Prof. Shaimaa Lazem

YouTube video by Data Science for Social Impact (DSFSI)

youtube.com

Next was an interesting talk by Jean Louis Fendji on the datafication blind spot in African AI policy at @dsfsi.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVew... (13/14)

Beyond Dataset Creation:The Datafication Blind Spot in African AI Policy-Jean Louis Fendji

YouTube video by Data Science for Social Impact (DSFSI)

youtube.com

From Morekolodi Primary & Tsogo High, to WitsUniversity & RutgersU, to my current daily homes at U of Pretoria & Lelapa AI —thank you. To the pioneering students, lab members @dsfsi.bsky.social , and community builders at @deeplearningindaba.bsky.social & MasakhaneNLP: you are the actual engine.

I don't see a personal achievement. I see a mirror reflecting a vast village. I am deeply mindful of the principle I was raised with: "To whom much is given, much is expected." This honour belongs to the spaces and people that nurtured my mind over the last 40 years.

Big news for the South African AI landscape! 🇿🇦 🚀 We are excited to announce two major developments involving our PI, Prof. Vukosi Marivate, regarding AI governance and policy in South Africa. 🧵 (1/5) @UPTuks @dstigovza @CommsZA

If our AI research tools invent facts, how can we trust the science? 🔎 In the 6th instalment of our 2026 @AI4Dev Workshop retrospective, we’re spotlighting Matthew Smith (IDRC) and his talk on AI-driven research integrity. 🧵 1/

What happens when our models start "eating their own tails"? 📉 In the 5th installment of our 2026 AI4D Workshop retrospective, we’re tackling the "Last Mile"—the hard path from a research paper to a system that actually serves society. 🧵 1/ @UPTuks @AI4Dev

If the first era of AI was defined by scale, the next must be defined by resilience. 🛡️ In our 4th workshop retrospective, we’re spotlighting Prof. Hein Venter’s talk on the intersection of #Cybersecurity and #NLP. 🧵 1/ @UPTuks

‘To Bring In More Voices And Perspectives’: The South African Professor Refusing To Let The Continent Be A Mere Spectator In The AI Race www.forbesafrica.com/current-affa...

In relation to the World Development Report (WDR) 2026, please read Statement from the African AI Ecosystem Session on the sidelines of the WDR 2026 Africa AI Consultation which was facilitated by AfriDSAI www.up.ac.za/afridsai/sta...

Statement from the African AI Ecosystem Session on the sidelines of the WDR 2026 Africa AI Consultation

AfriDSAI – World Bank WDR 2026 Consultation | March 20, 2026

up.ac.za

My comments on the South African Draft AI Policy <> SA introduces draft AI regulation policy youtu.be/Ix0nWWQYrMs?...

How do we move AI from the lab to the real world? 🌍 In our third retrospective post from the 2026 AI4D Workshop, we’re spotlighting "Applied AI & Systems." We’re applying NLP to aviation safety, financial reporting, accessibility, and cultural preservation. 🧵 1/ @UPTuks @AI4Dev

How do we move beyond standard NLP to build systems that truly understand the richness of African languages? 🌍 In the second instalment of our 2026 AI4D Workshop retrospective, we’re spotlighting our "Core NLP Research" rapid talks. Technical and vital for the road ahead. 🧵 1/

Three weeks ago, we brought together a community of researchers, linguists, and legal experts at the @UPTuks for the @AI4Dev African Languages Lab Workshop. It was a day of uncomfortable conversations, shared visions, and a unified drive to close the digital language divide 🧵1/

At #AfriCHI2025, our lead @vukosi.bsky.social asked a the question: 👉🏾 Do Africans really want chatbots? For us at, it’s a reminder that Africa’s AI future isn’t just about building smarter systems, it’s about building technologies that listen, understand our languages, and reflect our values. 1/

For those at MBZUAI in Abu Dhabi, I will be giving a seminar talk tomorrow (13 Oct 2025)

Introducing Kesego Mokgosi: Visiting PhD Researcher with the AI4D African Languages Lab open.substack.com/pub/dsup/p/i...

Introducing Kesego Mokgosi (visiting PhD Student) and an update on "Marito -> Mafoko"

Introducing Kesego Mokgosi: Visiting PhD Researcher with the AI4D African Languages Lab

open.substack.com

New work out of the Data Science Law Lab at UP - @DataLawAfrica Working to answer -> Are data scientists in Africa allowed to use copyrighted news broadcasts to train AI and develop technologies for local languages? Watch -> youtu.be/p-zFzlbhUw4 Paper -> doi.org/10.1080/1360...

Can African Data Scientists Use Copyrighted News for AI Training? 🌍🤖

Are data scientists in Africa allowed to use copyrighted news broadcasts to train AI and develop technologies for local languages? This is a critical question for innovation in African Natural…

youtu.be

Huge congratulations again to Dr. Mpho Mokoatle on her PhD in Computer Science from UP! 🎓 So proud her groundbreaking cancer research and inspiring journey are featured by the Weekend Argus. Her work in DNA analysis for early detection is truly life-changing! iol.co.za/weekend-argu...

Dr Mpho Mokoatle: a beacon of hope in cancer research through her PhD in Computer Science

Dr Mpho Mokoatle has emerged as a beacon of hope following her recent PhD graduation in Computer Science from the University of Pretoria. Her groundbreaking research aims to harness advanced…

iol.co.za

My Inaugural Lecture is now online 🎥 Beyond the Symbols: Natural Language Processing as an Adaptive Problem I reflect on my journey in advancing AI & NLP for African languages, tackling data scarcity, building communities & imagining inclusive futures. 👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwef...

Beyond the Symbols: Natural Language Processing as an Adaptive Problem - Prof. Vukosi Marivate

YouTube video by Data Science for Social Impact (DSFSI)

youtube.com

Vukosi Marivate@vukosi.bsky.social · last yr.

1/ It happened. I professed. I am now your Professor 😃 I am so thankful for the giants MIchael Littman and Tshilidzi Marwala on whose shoulders I stand. @dsfsi.bsky.social

Next was an excellent talk by @vukosi.bsky.social on natural language processing for low resource languages and the importance of Africans developing their own solutions at @dsfsi.bsky.social youtu.be/hwefANMnSxo?... (5/8)

Beyond the Symbols: Natural Language Processing as an Adaptive Problem - Prof. Vukosi Marivate

YouTube video by Data Science for Social Impact (DSFSI)

youtu.be

We’re excited to share that members of our Data Science for Social Impact Lab at UP contributed to UNESCO’s new global report: AI and the Future of Education: Disruptions, Dilemmas and Directions. 🔗 unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/p... @unesco.org