Savanna News
Dr Paul Azunre to breakdown how to use Khaya AI; AN African Language Tool
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Dr Paul Azunre’s Mission in Accra
Dr Paul Azunre will be in Ghana for the first edition of nhyAImu, an artificial intelligence conference. The event is a collaboration between NLP-Ghana and the Academic City University College in Accra. Scheduled to take place on Wednesday, June 12th, 2024, from 10 am to 12 pm, nhyAImu will focus on ‘Unveiling the future of African Languages with the Khaya AI.’ As the name implies, it will be an event that prioritizes Africa’s foremost Language Translation and Speech Recognition AI tool, Khaya.
About NLP-Ghana & nhyAImu
While NLP-Ghana has been around for some time, many do not know enough about their scope of work. That includes the useability of Khaya AI and how to integrate its API into other technology products.
This conference will therefore cover topics that include the following:
- Introduction to Ghana NLP and its mission
- Overview of engineering pipelines emphasizing MLOps
- Detailed demo and guidelines on using Khaya AI’s APIs
There will also be a Q&A session.
Understanding the vision behind the creation of the Language App
Khaya AI has proven to be an amazing tool created and built by Dr Paul Azunre and his team at Algorine Inc. and NLP-Ghana. The artificial intelligence tool is capable of translating African languages to others and has speech recognition capabilities. These two features and the deliberate emphasis on African Language make the tool unique.
Currently, some of the African Languages Khaya can effectively translate and recognize include Twi, Dagbani, Ewe, Fante, Ga, Gurune, Kikuyu, Kimeru, Luo, and Yoruba. The Algorine team is still working with partners across Africa to ensure that African languages are an integral part of the digital and technology space.
In contemporary times, artificial intelligence is facilitating many things. From improving timelines for task execution to offering alternative ways to execute tasks, AI continues to make strides. Thus, Khaya AI as a tool for African languages makes it easier to preserve, learn, understand, and integrate African languages on platforms to make them user-friendly.
Even though Khaya AI has been around for the past few years, the creators have yet to give a massive demonstration of how it works. They have done a lot online, but with this conference, they intend to bring to the fore its actual usage—not only the usage but also to introduce the App to AI enthusiasts and people building products that can benefit from this app’s integration.
Twi is a language used in the Khaya AI App. nhyAImu is a Twi word that means “a gathering of people.” Thus, this event is a gathering of AI enthusiasts, including students, lecturers, business owners, tech entrepreneurs, and a host of others.
Dr Paul Azunre is a Tech entrepreneur and rapper who goes by name Dr Pushkin.
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Ataman Nikita is Ready with Still Here
“Still Here” is the final decision by Richard Azunre, aka Ataman Nikita, to pursue music professionally. It is not the first song he has made, but #thesavannaonline can authoritatively say that this is the start of the musical journey to bring an alternative voice that soothes Ghana Music.
Ataman Nikita is a lecturer and a Systems Administrator at the Bolgatanga Technical University. Even though he has been dabbling in music most of his life, he appears to be finally deciding to pursue music as a profession. People familiar with Dr Pushkin’s music will recognize a familiar voice in many song hooks and choruses: Richard Azunre’s voice, aka Ataman Nikita. He is also Dr Pushkin’s brother.
The Story of “Still Here”
“Still Here” is the story of persistence, consistency, and staying true to oneself. It reminds us of a story we are all familiar with: slander, unbelief, and broken promises by people who would rather see us in squalor.
What is music if it cannot ignite an emotion?
This amazing piece of music created by Ataman Nikita, Strongman, and Dr Pushkin is a great tune and a song that speaks to each soul. Being scathed by commentary from haters is a choice. A person is indeed capable of damning such comments and charges.
This collaboration was birthed by Dr Pushkin’s desire to collaborate with other artists who appreciate his craft and are willing to do joint songs to complement their respective talents.
Strongman won the Best Rap Performance category at the 2024 Telecel Ghana Music Awards with his song “Rap God”. Interestingly, that win was not surprising. However, the time it took to win such a prestigious award is the surprise element for a peerless career that started in 2010. Strongman has been a major force to reckon with since he burst into the limelight after winning “Focus Fm Freestyle Friday” in 2010. Then he won Kfm Freestyle Saturday in 2011 and “Tha Next Big Thang in GH Hip-Hop sometime in 2012.
He eventually joined Sarkodie’s Sarkcess Music, working with several other artists to drop hit after hit. When his contract ended, and he chose to start his label, Strong Empire, fans felt uncomfortable due to the tough nature of Ghana Music. To prove everyone wrong, he has released monster hit songs with an impressive catalogue of rap songs. He has also been able to navigate through the music scene despite being independent. Many have attempted to swipe at him through music and slanderous commentary, but he has always slayed. The last major lyrical swipe came from Medikal, and everyone knows how the Mayanka boy did back2back he unleashed rap bars that Medikal could not fathom.
Dr Pushkin’s 2024 thus far
Working with Strongman was inevitable for an artist like Dr Pushkin as he stayed true to his beliefs. Many rappers have turned singers. However, Strongman has found a way to stay relevant and on point with his highly dense Rap songs. This feature was, therefore, another instance of “real recognize real”.
Still, Here is the Dr Pushkin’s 6th single for 2024.
The revered Dr Pushkin is in Ghana for a conference on Khaya, a language recognition and translation App. He is also here for a Ted Talk at Kumasi’s Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. As part of the visit to Kumasi, Dr Pushkin visited his alma mater, Opoku Ware Secondary School, to mentor students. All of the above is due to his second hat, which carries the name Paul Azure. Dr Pushkin is also known as Paul Azunre in Tech circles; he is often regarded as the GOAT of Ghana’s Brilliant Science and Maths Quiz program, where he helped Opoku Ware SHS win the title in 2002.
Dr Pushkin is a fast-growing person of interest due to his unique combination of music and his role as a top developer of the Khaya language recognition and translation app.
“Still Here” basically says that when the odds stack up against you, remaining firm and resolute, albeit ingenious, is paramount.
The song is currently available on all digital platforms.
Ataman Nikita is currently working an album set to be an explosion of Talent. We will keep you informed on this amazing singers journey. Way to go Ataman Nikita
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What is Khaya AI nhyAImu Conference all about?
nhyAImu is a conference that AI enthusiasts in Ghana and West Africa must attend. It is the brainchild of NLP-Ghana, Algorine Inc., and Academic City University College of Ghana. The objective is to interact with the general public on several topics centered on artificial intelligence and innovative Khaya AI.
The exceptional AI App and capabilities
If you desire AI that facilitates language translation and speech recognition with Africa as a priority, Khaya AI is your solution. Aside from the personal use of the impressive product created by Algorine Inc. and NLP-Ghana, Khaya AI allows integration into other web-based applications. This feat has set it ahead of its contemporaries, including Google Language Translator.
Khaya AI prioritizes recognition, speech translation, and text-to-speech translation between African languages and English. The application currently has 10 African languages as it strives to add more. The languages currently on the App are Twi, Dagbani, Ewe, Fante, Ga, Gurune, Kikuyu, Kimeru, Luo, and Yoruba.
Practical usage is based on the right prompts as an artificially intelligent product. While it is an easy-to-use application, accuracy, being the desire of users, requires more knowledge of how it works. Also, people with other web-based products who want to integrate Khaya AI require knowledge of how to do so.
All in all, the application is a simple tool that doesn’t require any knowledge of coding or anything very technical.
What to Expect at the Conference
NLP-Ghana, one of the leading forces behind the application, has teamed up with Academic City University College on a seminar to expose the features and usage to all. The event is scheduled on the Academic City Campus around Haatso-Agbogba in Accra.
The lead developer of the App, Dr. Paul Azunre, aka Dr. Pushkin, will be the main speaker for the day.
The nhyAImu conference will, therefore, cover topics that include the following:
Introduction to Ghana NLP and its mission
Overview of engineering pipelines emphasizing MLOps
Detailed demo and guidelines on using Khaya AI’s APIs
It is scheduled for Wednesday, June 12th, 2024, from 10 am to 12 pm; nhyAImu will focus on ‘Unveiling the future of African Languages with the Khaya AI.’
How to Register
You can register to participate via this link; https://bit.ly/nhyiamu
Registration is Free.
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Afara’nga is here.
Kundivi Mahama, formerly Zazzy, has released yet another beautiful composition. The song, Afara’nga, furthers his agenda to dominate as a live performer with an enviable repertoire. Afara’nga is currently available to stream across all digital music platforms.
The song is off his yet-to-be-released album, scheduled for late 2024.
Kundivi Mahama’s Stature
Kundivi Mahama, who resides and operates from the Upper East Regional capital, Bolgatanga, is one of the top five vocalists in the region. His stature is undoubtedly high. His dexterity as a lyricist, vocalist, and live band performer remains peerless. His consistency as a stellar musician remains his call to fame.
In the last few months, he has been on a streak; he released songs that offer fans an idea of what to expect on his album. The songs released have so far exhibited the characteristics of a world star in the leagues of the Youssou N’dours, Angelique Kidjos, and Wiyaalas.
Songs from his Album Released so far
Afara’nga follows Yineme, featuring Soorebia, Sheiwuna, and Taafama, which have solidified his rise. Other songs like Pon Dem Case and Echanga also make listening unforgettable.
The Above songs marked his journey when he rebranded from Zazzy to Kundivi Mahama. The new persona came with his desire to bring back the sound and rhythms of Uppers International Band, which reigned in Ghana from the late 1960s to the early 2000s. He pursues this feat with the touch of an original self; thus, fans get a feel of two worlds.
According to Kundivi Mahama, Afara’nga is a tribute to the Uppers International Band.
A more detailed profile about the life and music of Kundivi Mahama is coming soon.
CHECK SAFE WAYS TO TRAVEL AROUND NORTHERN GHANA HERE
Ataman Nikita, readies his sound with Still here
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