Last year, Ugandan technology developer Ernest Mwebaze was building an artificial intelligence system that could work in multiple languages across his country. He tested models from China and the United States. Can you guess who won?
According to a report by The New York Times on the 5th, Mvebaze said that China’s AI models perform better than Meta or Google’s models when dealing with dozens of languages in Uganda. More importantly, China’s AI models can be customized using their own data.
Reports say that AI in China is booming, and it is highly sought after by developing countries, as everyone is looking for systems that are cost-effective but also offer the best results.
The New York Times interviewed more than twenty developers, policy makers, and corporate executives in countries like Kenya and Uganda. The interviewees said, "Using a Chinese model is like having your own house, while using an American model is like renting. Developers don't need to spend millions of dollars training models from scratch. They just need to download a Chinese AI system and develop new products based on it. The main cost is for servers. In contrast, American models require paying various fees depending on the task being performed."
A Toyota car can take kids to school, so why spend an extravagant amount on a Ferrari? The person interviewed running a digital marketing agency in Nairobi said.
