网易体育 AI and ML at Wits University
“The School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics is a powerhouse in AI research, boasting among the highest concentration of AI experts in Africa. With 18 academics working directly in fundamental AI research and publishing in the top AI venues in the world, we are the leading AI research publishers in Africa. Further, we boast over 400 postgraduate students in AI and Data Science programmes from postgraduate diplomas through to PhDs.” – Associate Professor Richard Klein, Deputy Head of the School of Computer and Applied Mathematics, Wits University
[For more AI research at Wits University, see the biographies of The Wits MIND Institute Fellows]
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Wits University researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs are leading some of the most exciting developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics in Africa.
A snapshot of our work:
- The Robotics, Autonomous Intelligence and Learning (RAIL) is one of the largest AI research labs in the southern hemisphere, ensuring African involvement in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Robotics.
- The new Fintech Hub has been launched to solve real-world problems and find solutions to known and future challenges in fintech, data sciences and artificial intelligence.
- Wits researchers in AI were part of a study on how to end 网易体育 as a public health threat.
- COVID-19: Combining Wi-Fi technology with AI: A Wits team of researchers developed a tracker tool to monitor social distancing in shopping malls.
- Discoveries about beetles’ brains can lead to the development of real-life applications in robotics and artificial intelligence.
- Prototype translating Sign Language into text can revolutionise how individuals with speech and hearing impairments access healthcare.
- Affordable new AI device to monitor air pollution hotspots in real-time.
- Africa’s first state-of-the-art endovascular robotics unit.
- Darryl Epstein, a Wits graduated civil and structural engineer, and founder and managing director of Delta Scan, a company specialising in the digitisation and inspection of infrastructure using high-tech solutions such as drones, robots, and artificial intelligence, used his expertise to help locate the remainsof six-year-old Khayalethu Magadla who fell into a sewer manhole in Soweto.
- Two Wits alumniPelonomi Moiloa (BSc Eng BM 2014, BSc Eng Elec 2015) and Shakir Mohamed (BSc Eng 2005, MSc Eng 2007) were named among TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence (AI)”, published on 7 September 2023.
- A new study shows pro-western cultural bias in the way AI decisions are explained.
- Wits scholars address AI, bias and ‘WEIRD’ science.
- COVID-19: Combining Wi-Fi technology with AI: A Wits team of researchers developed a tracker tool to monitor social distancing in shopping malls.
- Smart human oversight is crucial in facial recognition: Dr Nicholas Bacci from the School of Anatomical Sciences studies how enhanced human verification techniques and practices in facial recognition will ensure accuracy and ward off inherent biases.
AI-related labs and research groups/entities at Wits
- The Wits Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute aims to promote breakthrough scientific research and advanced technology innovation in artificial intelligence. The Wits MIND Institute brings together interdisciplinary teams to push the frontiers of scientific understanding of natural and artificial intelligence, while also promoting incubation and commercialization of innovative technologies through partnership with industry. The Wits MIND Institute will collaborate with key industries to create high value and novel technologies, such as large-scale AI models. [Visit the website]
- The Robotics, Autonomous Intelligence and Learning Lab (RAIL) focuses on both fundamental and applied research on AI, particularly exploring questions around autonomous decision making and robotics. [Visit the website]
- The WITS ExplainableAI Lab (EAI) endeavours to make the complex workings of AI systems transparent, interpretable, and trustworthy because without a clear understanding of how AI systems reach their conclusions, there is a risk that they will be underutilised or, worse, misapplied. [Visit the website]
- The PRIME research lab focuses on machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques for Perception and Representation Learning to enable AI in future to learn from large unlabelled datasets which are cheaper to create.
- The Wits Neuroscience Research Laboratory, NeuRL, in the School of Human and Community Development is both a physical space where innovative research is carried out using a range of methodologies, as well as a group of academics with varied research interests in clinical, cognitive, computational and social-affective neuroscience. [Visit the website]
- The Fintech Hub in the Wits School of Economics and Finance brings academia and industry together to drive innovation and advancement in the financial technology space, and to, equip students with knowledge of finance and technologies such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies, data analytics and machine learning that are essential for navigating the future of finance. [Visit the website]
- Tayarisha Centre for Digital Governance is a hub for teaching, research, policy dialogue, and outreach on the challenges and opportunities presented by digitisation in the public sector, society, and industry in Africa. [Visit the website]
- The Wits Chair in Digital Business and postgraduate programmes are focused on building a contextualised knowledge base for managing businesses in the digital world, including the role of AI. [Visit the website
- The Wits Innovation Centre, home of the prestigious Angela and David Fine Chair in Innovation, serves as a hub for the coordination of innovation activities and drives inspired entrepreneurial and innovative thinking across the University. [Visit the website]
- WitsQ is a strategic initiative of the University to be a driver of quantum technologies, making Wits the leading quantum institute on the continent. The vision is to strategically promote and advance quantum technology at Wits, with a focus on the research, innovation, business, education and outreach, and ethics of quantum technologies. [Visit the website]
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