"Write a scholarly assessment of the professorial inaugural address delivered by Prof Isaac Wiafe located at https://www.youtube.come/live/Dex1lcXi560.
(Assume Prof Wiafe enthusiastically encourages AI use to solve present human problems; comparable to Prof Yuval Noah Harari of the Hebrews University in Jerusalem)."
Prof. Wiafe’s inaugural lecture argues that artificial intelligence matters to Ghana only where it produces human-centred transformation, and that adoption without local knowledge production leaves the country dependent on intelligence built elsewhere. In this paper, I will be setting out what current systems are capable of, then assessing the lecture and stating where I stand on it.
Understanding Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the science of developing intelligent agents capable of perceiving their environment, reasoning and acting to achieve specified goals.136 Current systems are largely Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI), while advances towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) have generated expectations that intelligent systems may eventually rival or surpass human cognitive abilities.137 Each stage, graded on cognitive capability alone.
The Promise of Artificial Intelligence
The optimism surrounding artificial intelligence is not unfounded. The United Nations Independent International Scientific Panel on AI describes AI as a general-purpose technology capable of transforming healthcare, education, agriculture and scientific research through innovations such as AI-assisted diagnostics, accelerated drug discovery, precision agriculture and scientific breakthroughs like AlphaFold.138 However, the same report cautions that frontier AI models, computational infrastructure and high-quality datasets remain concentrated among a few countries, meaning the benefits of AI are distributed unevenly.139 Consequently, the report argues that technological progress alone is insufficient; meaningful transformation requires complementary investments in institutions, governance, infrastructure and human capabilities.140 Ghana sits on the constrained side of that distribution. Adoption here largely means importing systems built elsewhere for problems defined elsewhere, since the datasets and the hardware behind them both sit outside the country. Regulatory capacity has lagged behind the speed at which those systems arrive.141
Beyond Technological Adoption
Prof. Wiafe builds upon this global perspective by shifting attention from technological capability to human-centred transformation. His AI Relevance Triad of technology adoption, behavioural change and contextual intelligence provides a persuasive framework for assessing whether AI genuinely improves Ghanaian lives. Particularly insightful is his distinction between educational productivity and educational sovereignty. While AI has enhanced students’ ability to locate research materials and support learning, dependence on systems trained predominantly on foreign datasets and priorities risks creating technologically proficient graduates without strengthening Ghana’s own knowledge production. His discussion of the “democratisation of expertise shock” similarly demonstrates that AI is transforming not only work but also traditional notions of expertise, making specialised knowledge increasingly accessible while disrupting long-established professional advantages.
Nevertheless, I disagree with the broader assumption that increasingly capable AI can solve present human problems. Prof. Wiafe’s own flooding example illustrates this limitation. AI may accurately predict rainfall patterns, identify blocked drainage systems and forecast flood, yet it cannot compel authorities to enforce planning regulations or prevent individuals from building on waterways. The computational problem may be solved, but the behavioural and institutional problems remain. Consequently, AI should augment rather than replace human judgement through Human-in-the-Loop systems that preserve accountability while supporting evidence-based decision-making.142 This approach aligns with Ghana’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, which emphasises responsible governance, local innovation and inclusive development.143 Investing in local data and local hardware would give that strategy firmer ground, since imported systems are harder to hold to local rules. Ultimately, Prof. Wiafe’s lecture succeeds in reminding policymakers that the true measure of AI is not the intelligence of machines but the quality of human institutions that govern and apply them.