Professor Vukosi Marivate, Professor of Computer Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Title: 3 Years into the LLM AI Revolution, What have we learned? Abstract: In this talk, I reflect on the challenges and opportunities brought by the explosion of language based Generative AI and how it's wider impact has affected all of us. I discuss the opportunities for Africa to lead and better represent low resource languages.
Bio
Prof Vukosi Marivate is a Professor of Computer Science and holds the ABSA UP Chair of Data Science at the University of Pretoria. He specialises in developing Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods to extract insights from data, with a particular focus on the intersection of ML/AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP). His research is dedicated to improving the methods, tools and availability of data for local or low-resource languages. As the leader of the Data Science for Social Impact research group in the Computer Science department, Vukosi is interested in using data science to solve social challenges. He has worked on projects related to science, energy, public safety, and utilities, among others. Prof Marivate is a co-founder of Lelapa AI, an African startup focused on AI for Africans by Africans. Vukosi is a co-founder of the Masakhane Research Foundation, which aims to develop NLP technologies for African languages. Vukosi is also a co-founder of the Deep Learning Indaba, the leading grassroots Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence conference on the African continent that aims to empower and support African researchers and practitioners in the field.
Professor Anne Lauscher, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Title: Languages, Values, And Attitudes — On Reflections of Culture in Large Language ModelsAbstract: Striving towards globally-inclusive models, much effort has been spent on increasing the multilingual capabilities of language technology. However, even large language models still cover major languages only, and knowledge on the effects of their language capabilities in integrated scenarios (e.g., in vision-language models) is rather rare. Additionally, research on multilingual natural language processing has for long ignored other aspects relevant to global inclusion that transcend the surface level-form of languages (e.g., cultural values). In this talk, I will present some of our works showcasing these issues — towards a joint discussion on globally-inclusive language technologies.
Bio
Anne Lauscher (she/her) is a Professor of Data Science at the University of Hamburg, where her research group investigates Artificial Intelligence systems with a focus on fair, inclusive, and sustainable communication. The professorship is funded by the Excellence Initiative of the German federation and the federal states. Before, she was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Natural Language Processing group at Bocconi University (Milan, Italy) where she was working on introducing demographic factors into language processing systems with the aim of improving algorithmic performance and system fairness. She obtained her Ph.D., awarded with the highest honors (summa cum laude), from the Data and Web Science group at the University of Mannheim (Germany), where her research focused on the interplay between language representations and computational argumentation. During her studies, she conducted research internships at and became an independent research contractor for Grammarly Inc. (New York City, U.S.) and for the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Seattle, U.S.). Her research gets regularly published at international top-tier Natural Language Processing (e.g., ACL, EMNLP, NAACL, etc.) and Artificial Intelligence (e.g., AAAI, ICLR) venues and has been recognized with multiple awards. For instance, her recent honours include a Social Impact Award at EACL 2024, and an Outstanding Paper Award at NAACL 2025.
Meried Bekele
CEO, IE Networks
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Title: Rebooting Africa: Vision, Execution, and Digital Innovation for Inclusive Growth
Abstract: Africa’s development story will be written by those who dare to execute bold visions. Drawing from my journey as an entrepreneur and the insights in Ethiopia Incorporated, this keynote will explore how visionary leadership, disciplined execution, and digital innovation converge to create sustainable and inclusive economic growth. I will highlight how African ICT professionals can move from theory to scalable impact, unlocking opportunities across sectors through digital infrastructure, SaaS platforms, and AI-driven solutions.
Bio:
CEO, IE Networks
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Meried Bekele is an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and network architect. His company, IE Networks, is Ethiopia’s leading IT solutions provider, with specializations in enterprise network services, business AI, smart infrastructure, cloud services, and end-to-end IT services. Founded in 2008, IE Networks now has over 200 certified employees and has collaborated with major global brands and notable Ethiopian services. Although IE Networks places technology and innovation at the center of all change, its mission statement reflects larger ambitions: to change the life of Africa through a disciplined work culture and systems thinking.
meried@ienetworksolutions.com
+251-911-511275
www.ienetworksolutions.com
www.Ethiopia-incorporated.com
Join the conference via the following link to attend the talk – [the link will be available here]
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