[kictanet] Cheap AI coding labour?

Mon Nov 12 15:52:45 EAT 2018

Hi Barrack and Listers,

I fully agree with this opinion, but before we throw rocks, let's remember charity starts at home.

It is quite vital to raise local standards and awareness on dev and engineering skills plus the remuneration package that comes with being very skilled in niche sectors. The global marketplace would be a good starting point but there are certain 'barriers of entry' so to speak. If local companies pay software developers 15k a month to tirelessly slog over code, why would a Silicon Valley start-up come in and pay the chap over 20 times that? Yes, that would be the ethical thing to do but most companies do not run on ethics. They run on P&L. There's a reason low tier supply chain manufacturing jobs are shifting to Vietnam, Ethiopia and Bangladesh and away from the traditional hubs...

Regards
Clifford

From: kictanet <kictanet-bounces+clifford.derrick=liquidtelecom.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke> On Behalf Of Barrack Otieno via kictanet
Sent: 12 November 2018 14:58
To: Clifford Derrick <clifford.derrick at liquidtelecom.com>
Cc: Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Cheap AI coding labour?

Hi Wainaina and listers,

Unfortunately we don't have a culture of rewarding local innovations
and pumping billions into local Research and Development. The global
north has noticed the talent that abounds locally and is not
hesitating in tapping into it. I wish we could invest more into our
Vocational Institutions and provide funding that would help our
innovators in the Jua Kali space to scale up. That said i would be
curious to hear what ndugu Ali who has been involved in the start up
phase or Harry Hare have to say since i consider them authorities in
the space.

Regards

On 11/12/18, Bernard Kioko via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>> wrote:
> Moral rights are not transferrable.
>
> On Mon, Nov 12, 2018 at 2:35 PM Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>> wrote:
>
>> Heehe $12,000 for the "best" source code (including moral rights - so you
>> will never get credited if its a big hit) is a complete joke imo.
>>
>> I would urge local developers to be cautious about these competitions and
>> approach them strategically.
>>
>> For example, you can use these kind of competitions as idea triggers to
>> (lawfully) get clues and inspiration on what problems need solving
>> (*without*
>> participating or signing up, as that potentially binds you to their T&Cs)
>> -
>> then form teams/coalitions to solve these problems independently for a
>> much
>> bigger potential payoff.
>>
>> On policy these things are happening because there are glaring loopholes
>> in our intellectual property laws that allow *IP mining* to take place
>> without any restriction or consequences. Its literally a free for all.
>>
>> Kenya needs an "Intellectual Property Resources Act", which would
>> invalidate exploitative contracts / terms and conditions is long overdue.
>> This is the kind of 21st Century legislation that can stimulate
>> innovation
>> and the creation of *high quality jobs* in Kenya.
>>
>> 21st Century resources include:
>> 1. Attention or engagement (systems designed to distract people from
>> contributing to economic activity)
>> 2. Data (for mining/analytics or ML)
>> 3. Source code, novel circuits, algorithms, chemical formulations,
>> mixtures, blue prints (including business plans, pricing models etc).
>> 4. Valuable ideas (e.g. "please call me") that cannot be protected via
>> any
>> combination of the old industrial era laws e.g. patents, copyright, UM &
>> DM.
>> 5. other?
>>
>> Thanks for the heads up and Good day!
>> Patrick.
>>
>> On Monday, November 12, 2018, 2:01:43 PM GMT+3, Wainaina Mungai via
>> kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Some developers are raising concerns privately that great initiatives
>> such
>> as Zindi are "cheaply buying AI code" from Africa
>> https://zindi.africa/faq/data_scientists
>>
>> According to them, "Zindi runs high-value expertise programming
>> competitions/ hackathons in Kenya and Nigeria... and demands code in
>> exchange for low pay prizes. It is unfairly low-cost labour for them."
>>
>> See attached. Are their concerns valid?
>>
>>
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and
>> development.
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>
>
> --
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Barrack O. Otieno
+254721325277
+254733206359
Skype: barrack.otieno
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