The 16th TWAS Young Affiliates Network (TYAN) International Thematic Workshop held in Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria.  The 16th TITO event organised in partnership  with the Automated Contact Tracing Research Group (ACTRG), FUTA  and GigaScience with the 3rd African Symposium on Big Data, Analytics and Machine Intelligence was  themed “Open Data Science and AI for Healthcare” and held on 24th-25th June, 2024.

The Symposium and workshop, gathered 98 scientists from 13 countries in an hybrid format with rigorous and enriching sessions on how the potentials of AI can be harnessed for a more effective healthcare delivery on the African continent and beyond.

The events started with an opening address by the Organizing Chair, Prof. Bolanle Ojokoh, a TYAN member, who is also the Principal Investigator of ACTRG, in Information Systems department of the University, stating the event to be third on the series to be hosted by FUTA since 2019 when it was inaugurated. She applauded TYAN as a partner,  and its commitment to harnessing the strengths and potentials of young scientists to provide solutions aiming at achieving  sustainable development goals in developing nations.

In an opening speech, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, who was represented, by the Dean of School of Postgraduate Studies, Prof. Olufayo Bello-Olusoji, expressed the unique challenges that Africa faces in healthcare delivery and access and the importance of collective commitment to harness the power of open data, cutting-edge analytics, and AI to revolutionize healthcare across the continent. She also stated the commitment of the Federal University of Technology, Akure,  to push the boundaries of data science and AI in healthcare, while   investing in cutting-edge infrastructure and fostering partnerships with industry leaders, governments, and international organizations. TYAN Chair, Prof. Franco Cabrerizo, who was represented by Fang Chen, a Co-Chair, gave a goodwill message, expressing the interest of the network in the important event.

One of the partners, GigaScience,  committed to open publishing, was represented by the director, Dr Laurie Goodman, who also served as a keynote speaker in the Symposium. In her talk, she emphasized the possibility of transforming Medicine with AI through open data, scientific knowledge, software sharing and use of open-source computational tools, and research promotion with reproducible, accessible, and executable results. 

Physical participants, including Prof. Rosemary Tonjock from University of Bamenda, Cameroon, in an invited session discussed about the importance of African fungi in Bioinformatics and genome sequencing. In a related vein, another TYAN member, Prof. Emile Chimusa, a co-organizer, from Northumbria University, UK, in a plenary session, emphasized on leveraging on the diversity of the African genome data for a more effective decision making with AI. The events also drew participants including faculty and students from FUTA and other institutions from different parts of Nigeria. 

The  16th TYAN International Thematic Workshop centred on AI as a Catalyst for Multidisciplinary Research with rigorous discussion by some TYAN Members and other young scholars. The panel session was moderated by one of the event’s co-organizer, Dr Hasan Aljabbouli, TYAN member from New York University, USA. Other panelists include Prof. Bolanle Ojokoh (also a TYAN member), Dr Oluwarotimi Samuel, who is a Global Young Academy member from University of Derby, UK, and  Dr Olatunji Omisore from Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technologies, China.

The thought provoking  session provided insightful perspectives on the topic with the following key discussion points: 

• Harnessing AI for Multidisciplinary Collaboration: The panel emphasized the importance of scientists from diverse fields (healthcare, agriculture, bioinformatics, energy conservation inclusive) understanding and incorporating AI into their research. 

• User-Friendly AI Systems: The discussion highlighted existing clinical decision-support systems that integrate machine learning models. User-friendly interfaces (text/picture input) and training programs were identified as crucial for educating users on system operation and how algorithms reach decisions. 

• AI Applications in Public Health: Examples were presented of AI’s impact on public health, including apps for malaria diagnosis, drug discovery, and community data collection via mobile applications. Additionally, big data analysis in bioinformatics was discussed. 

• Challenges of AI Integration: The panel acknowledged challenges in integrating AI into various disciplines. However, they emphasized ongoing efforts to find solutions, with collaboration between AI specialists and domain experts being crucial. 

• Ethical Considerations in AI Adoption: Ethical conduct, particularly data security, was identified as a major concern. The discussion compared stricter data collection regulations in some regions to others, highlighting the role of regulatory bodies. The emergence of “explorable AI” to ensure transparency and validate AI predictions was also mentioned. 

• Evolving AI Policies: The panel pointed out that AI policies are continually evolving due to the rapid emergence of new issues, especially in critical areas like healthcare and the military.

The panel concluded by advocating for responsible AI use. They emphasized AI as a tool that should complement human efforts, create job opportunities (not replacements), and require proper training for effective utilization, citing tools like ChatGPT for language translation data.