An Associate Professor of the Computer Science Department, University of Ghana, Prof Isaac Wiafe, has expressed concern regarding the country’s foreign exchange challenges, attributing a substantial portion of the challenges to technological factors.
Prof Isaac Wiafe’s statement highlights the correlation between economic stability and technology. He asserted that the high costs associated with importing technology are a major contributor to the decline in the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
“I seriously believe that one of the major issues of foreign exchange drop in Ghana is through technology,” Prof Wiafe said. “If you import that technology, it is paid in millions of dollars.”
Prof. Wiafe said he was actively looking for an opportunity to collaborate with a colleague from the Economics Department to investigate the link between foreign exchange fluctuations and technology.
He made a heartfelt invitation for collaboration, stating, “I really would plead that if any of my colleagues in Economics would work with me on this.”
He empasised the need for society to adjust in order to accommodate technology, as the world is steadily moving towards the use of Artificial intelligence (AI). He explained that although not fully accepted, AI will soon be deployed in every aspect of the human life.
“If we don’t start doing AI things, then by the time everybody is there, we are behind” Prof. Wiafe cautioned.
He however underscored the importance for local capacity building so as to create technology content that is relevant to the needs of the local people.
“If we don’t build our local systems, our local capacity, the solution will not be tailored towards our needs, all the solutions will be tailored for them and they will impose them on us.” He said. “So people will not see technology to be relevant.”
Professor Isaac Wiafe was speaking in an interview hosted by Dr. Abubakari Sidick Ahmed, on the Research and Innovation Agenda program, on Radio Univers. Research and Innovation Agenda is one of the station’s flagship initiatives that highlights impactful research in accordance with the University’s second Strategic Priority of “nurturing the highest quality research that embraces current and emerging technologies and inspires innovations in solving societal problems.”
Story by: Barbara Balangtaa | univers.ug.edu.gh.
