Blockchain and artificial intelligence highlighted in the 6th Brazil Africa Forum
Healthcare technology domain expert, Afsar Akal will be a speaker at the 6th Brazil Africa Forum. Akal is the founder of Bloxperiment, a venture for social experimentation of disruptive technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI). “These two technologies are converging and creating uncertainty for the future. In this panel we will discuss how youth in the developing world can be empowered by these technologies and identify opportunities for the youth to combat technological threats to the society’s well being”, says.
Blockchain is a breakthrough technology that has revolutionized the way people conduct value exchanges, execute contractual relations and keep a record of each step on an open and distributed network. It has the potential to disrupt all industries beyond the financial sector especially cryptocurrency investing. On the other hand, the rise of artificial intelligence is increasingly disrupting the job market as more and more jobs are being replaced by the machines.
Before Bloxperiment, Afsar Akal had previously performed senior level roles at major corporations such as IBM and Intel Corp in the field of healthcare technology and artificial intelligence. His early career was in the public and international civil service such as Queensland Health, Medicare Australia and the UN World Health Organization. Akal’s last role before venturing into blockchain and AI, was Associate Partner at IBM Watson Health covering Turkey Middle East and Africa region. During his career Afsar Akal lived and worked in Australia, China, Vietnam and Kenya and possesses good knowledge of international development. He holds a BA degree from Bogazici University Business Administration and an MSc degree from University of Liverpool on International Accounting and Finance.
