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The African Studies Center (ASC) sponsors conferences, lectures, exhibits, film series, and cultural performances throughout the year. These events are designed to foster understanding of Africa among members of the U-M community and the public  and to advance the exchange of resources and knowledge between U-M and its partners in Africa.

In addition to our yearly programming, ASC considers funding requests to cosponsor lectures, events, performances,  and activities that coincide with the our mission to promote a broad and deep understanding of the region. Request to cosponsor an event»

ASC Lecture. AI in Africa: A New Agenda for African Languages x AI: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

Vukosi Marivate, University of Pretoria
Wednesday, April 1, 2026
2:00-4:00 PM
555 Weiser Hall Map
In this presentation, Professor Marivate will discuss the crucial role of community building in developing technologies for African languages in the age of AI. He will explore the unique challenges and opportunities in fostering collaboration across disciplines and communities, and in building language technologies that not only perform well on benchmarks, but also respect, reflect, and empower the cultures and peoples they represent.

The talk will further examine the limitations of current evaluation practices-what we are able to measure, what we routinely overlook, and how nuances of language, meaning, and cultural context often fall outside standard metrics. Professor Marivate will argue for expanding how we think about evaluation in African language AI, moving beyond narrow performance measures towards approaches that are participatory, culturally grounded, and community-informed.

*Accommodation: If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.
Email: -- teyei@umich.edu
Building: Weiser Hall
Website:
Event Type: Lecture / Discussion
Tags: African Studies, African Studies Center, Artificial Intelligence, Discussion, Lecture
Source: Happening @ Michigan from African Studies Center, International Institute