The seminar that runs through Friday May 3, placed under the theme; ‘Artificial Intelligence Opportunity or threat to Africa’ was the occasion for the Commander of the War college, Brigadier General Nka Valère to recall the audience of the choice of the college themes, all inspired by the various international trends, the case of this year being the massive spread and use of Artificial Intelligence, which if not well managed will appear to be more of a curse than a blessing.
Amongst the objectives of this seminar, he cited; laying the framework for the use and implication of Artificial Intelligence, analyzing the different stakes linked to Artificial Intelligence (AI), proposing solutions in relation to public policies and the use of Artificial Intelligence especially in relation with the Defence and Security Forces.
Speaking during the first workshop, Professor Wullson Mvomo Ela, a seasoned lecturer and one of the pioneer tutors at the War College outlined the risk Africa is faced with in what he termed another ‘colonization’ through Artificial Intelligence since most African Countries with limited resources are at the receiving end from the more technologically advanced countries.
Citing the Russian-Ukrainian War, he elaborated on the extent to which Artificial Intelligence has gone into use; the distant control of drones, the disarmament of Improvised explosive devices and launching of airstrikes. In His closing statement, he proposed an approach with Defence and security partners to tackle AI so that it becomes a virtue through the fundamentals of the 3C approach which is Coordination, Complementarity and Cooperation.
The 19th batch of trainees of the International War College of Simbock comprises of 61 trainees from 25 countries from four continents; Africa, Asia, America and Europe. Within its 18 years of existence, it has graduated 784 top ranking military personnel across the globe.
