Yosef Girmay Woldekidan: Digital Technologies Should Improve the Lives of Ordinary Africans

At the Mechta venue in Gorky Park, Moscow, participants are also discussing the spread of disinformation online. Yosef Girmay Woldekidan, a communications and media monitoring expert, shared his views with IT Russia.

– I’m not only a communications and media monitoring expert but also the secretary of our international internet society, which focuses on online safety.

At this forum, I hope to learn as much as possible about the regulation and governance of the internet, digital technologies and artificial intelligence. Through seminars, lectures and other events, I’m gaining new insights from Russian specialists and experts from other countries. I hope to apply what I learn in Africa, in my home country of Ethiopia. That’s my main goal.

We live in an age when the internet is full of fake news and scammers. That’s why it’s important to combat these criminal activities and improve people’s digital literacy so they can distinguish false information from reliable sources.

We also need to strengthen cybersecurity. Governments must regulate the use of artificial intelligence and manage the risks associated with it. As AI systems become more widespread, it is getting harder to distinguish disinformation from the truth. At the same time, everyone needs to stay alert to protect themselves, their families and their loved ones from scammers and avoid making decisions based on false information.

But our biggest concern in Africa, and in Ethiopia in particular, is improving productivity. Digital technologies should help, for example, increase agricultural output. Farmers and other workers need to be able to work more efficiently and improve their living standards, creating better conditions in which to raise their children. That’s how technology can make a real difference in the lives of ordinary Africans.