“Turn on your PC and login into your AI family Accounts…” these are the first words that come out of my mouth every Saturday at 10:00am at the ICT center in Tassah Academic Complex, Yaounde.
Working with children and families passionate about technology at NexGen Technology Center has been educative and fun as well. One of the many interesting international challenges which NexGen participates in is the Artificial Intelligence Family Challenge, commonly called the AI family program. This program seeks to get children and their parents involved in critical thinking on how they can use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve common community problems such as waste management, housing, health and a host of others. As an AI mentor, I spend averagely four hours each Saturday working with very young students and their parents.
Though a mentor, this challenge has been quite beneficial for me as well as the students, as I take out time to study each lesson provided by Curiosity Machine. From the first day that I started my journey as a volunteer, I have learned deeply about what a community is, what Artificial Intelligence is all about, the problems a community faces as well as examples of community problems that were tackled using AI. A very practical example is how AI solves the problem of language barrier by translating web pages in foreign languages to our native language. The students are also involved in critical thinking as we drill them personally on practical AI solutions to the numerous community problems
The outcome is astonishing as I witness children below fifteen propose and try to develop ground-breaking ideas, which I can barely think of as a mentor. One of the most outstanding ideas proposed by a thirteen year old is the ‘Smart Trash Can’, which aims at tackling the problem of trash overflow in trash cans.
Part of Team Open Dreams, Yaounde
At the end of this challenge, the projects are judged and successful participants alongside a mentor will have the opportunity to present their ideas to potential sponsors in California, USA. As times passes by, I learn a lot about Tech. The fast internet connection and hands-on-activities push me towards getting a good college education to start serving the community in tackling emerging challenges.
This is my experience as a Volunteer at NexGen Technology Center, Yaounde.