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AI comes to the aid of visually impaired child

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Melody and her kids Mati and Juju Her Facebook profile reads; “Supermum, cookie that doesn’t crumble, clothed with strength and valor,” and it is absolutely true.  Melody Gwanyambira, is the definition of courage. She is single handedly raising and caring for her children Mati and Juju who both have special needs. Juju who is now 6 years old started going blind when he was 2 years old while his older sister Mati (8) has cognitive development issues and problems with her eye-sight too. “ I want my children to see the world,” Melody  who hopes to take her children to Disney World as soon as the COVID19 pandemic is under control said. For a young woman barely 30 in a foreign country with no family support this can be emotionally and financially taxing but the young Zimbabwean journalist and content creator of the Women Football Around the World remains positive. “It’s difficult but I thank God for giving me the strength I need everyday,” she said.  She’s more than upbeat about the role of

AI A TOOL IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID

IF there is anything the COVID19 pandemic has made clear is the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deep machine learning is here, and no force in this world has the power to stop it. In the past we have had people challenging the emergence of AI and deep machine learning as it significantly takes away from human jobs and function as we know them today, but clearly the recent pandemic which had the world shell shocked and medical experts and scientists alike at their wits end, left no doubt that it is a significant tool in the fight against COVID.     COVID 19 which was first discovered in 2019 in Wuhan China spread so fast in that experts had no choice but to turn to AI for a solution.  A good majority of the countries had to go into lockdown to allow medical experts and scientists alike to come up with a solution but barley 2 years after the virus was discovered, we now have a vaccine all thanks to new technologies which have the ability and intelligence to speed up medical proce

ZIMBABWE A SELF MADE PROBLEM

THIS is a continuation of the piece I posted two days ago concerning the matter of the Suedes offering assistance to Zimbabwe on the condition that the ruling party Zanu PF and MDC put aside their differences.  But the  problem is the leadership of the political parties has polarised issues and made it hard to create grounds for dialogue and rapprochements. It’s the case of the grass suffering on account of two elephants fighting. For example Chamisa’s refusal to recognise ED as the President of Zimbabwe, insisting the elections were stolen. And coining new political verbiages such as the People’s President, or President elected by the people while ED is president elected by the courts. Where does that strategy take us next as a starting point for dialogue?  It’s dead before is started. On the other end, ED argues that he created the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) in May 2019 as a platform for national dialogue, and Chamisa and MDC (who refused to participate in it), should jo

WHAT TRUE FRIENDS OF ZIMBABWE SHOULD DO

RECENT media reports which suggest that Sweden offered to assist Zimbabwe’s efforts towards re-engagement with the international community only if, President Emmerson Mnangagwa and MDC President Nelson Chamisa call a truce are worrisome. They reveal Zimbabwe as a country to whom a different set of rules are applied rather than a universal practice. These conditions also reveal that there has been a failure to grasp the reasons standing in the way of dialogue, which has largely to do with the internal approach to issues and the huge egos at play in the country.  One could even posit that the differences are irreconcilable yet very legitimate.   A case of mixed/double standards When I first heard of the news I thought this  could be a great idea, but to place this as a condition   to  supporting a troubled country  to find its  feet is very unusual, patronising, and certainly not the way to deal with another sovereign state.  Much as I  realise the need  to get the Zimbabwe dom

ODE TO MUGABE; A WITTY OLD CHARMER

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The late former President Mugabe and I at the Harare International Airport  on June 29, 2011. Picture Credit; Tsvangirai Mukwazhi I received the news of former president Robert Mugabe’s death with indifference. I had no idea on how to feel about a man who had ruled over Zimbabwe with an iron fist leaving behind a trail of blood, tears and economic destruction. This is a rather strange feeling because he was an icon of the liberation struggle and was the first prime minister and president of Zimbabwe who affected my life in many ways. My reaction is similar to many of my countrymen. People don't know whether to mourn or to celebrate his demise. The reaction is  evidently mixed as there are those that belong to and celebrate the liberation struggle  will mourn and forgive him for all the evil he committed and there are those who were victims of his brutality, political opponents who will not miss him. Then, of course, there are the ‘born free’ youths who were born after

Conference Discusses Challenges and Opportunities of AI

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delegates pose for a photo with the robot which welcomed them to the conference at Unesco  PARIS, The Mobile Learning Week conference co-hosted by UNESCO and ITU under the theme Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability; Principles for AI(Artificial Intelligence) Towards a Humanistic Approach, yesterday, roared into life here where co-existence of humans and machines took centre stage. Rapid technological advancements in artificial intelligence have been a cause of panic and relief to the world at large mainly because of the possibility of the loss of human jobs to machines. While others welcome it owing to the positive impact it will have on the socio-economic sector. “ Many jobs will be lost but many will be created,” UNESCO director General Audrey Azoulay said during her opening speech. She went on to say there was a need to prepare humans to live in a world with AI because its transformative power cuts across social and economic sectors as well as the education sector

IS DEMOCRACY ON TRIAL IN ZIMBABAWE

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...UNPACKING THE 2018 ELECTIONS The nation is at a standstill, as Zimbabweans anxiously await the Concourt ruling on the challenge mounted by Nelson Chamisa's MDC alliance who are challenging the presidential election results announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission(ZEC). One would say that the country has been arrested because of these developments but then again, that is the price we pay for democracy. Unless and until the Concourt decides otherwise, the results announced by the Justice Priscilla Chigumba led commission are that Zanu PF won the parliamentary and presidential elections clearing the way for Emmerson Mnangagwa to form the next government.   There is, however, something very bizarre about the outcome of the just ended 2018 elections, and the behaviour of the Zimbabwean politicians and the electorate itself in those elections. There was something disturbingly dysfunctional about our fledgeling democracy that injects a sense of cynicism. One wonders