The Moroccan city of Marrakech welcomed representatives of dozens of tech firms and hundreds of their representatives.
GITEX Africa 2023 ran from May 31 to June 2, bringing Morocco some of the latest technologies in a variety of fields including cybersecurity, financing and education.
Artificial intelligence should not be feared, said engineer Fahol Massouta, whose company participated in the event.
"People say that artificial intelligence will replace humans, that is not true. AI will help humans work in a smarter ways," he said.
Worries about AI systems outsmarting humans and running wild have intensified with the rise of a new generation of highly capable AI chatbots such as ChatGPT.
A number of governments are already working to regulate high-risk AI tools.
Even some of the computer scientists who helped build the foundations of today’s AI technology are warning of its dangers, but that doesn’t mean they agree on what those dangers are or how to prevent them.
Countries around the world scrambling to come up with regulations for the developing technology, with the European Union blazing the trail with its AI Act expected to be approved later this year.
Hosting the event in an African country could present chances for development, said Frederic Michel, a representative of one of the firms that took part in GITEX Africa.
"Indeed, in Africa we have a lot of problems compared to other continents," Michel said.
"That is why I think of AI as an example that could be the solution that can create change," Michel added.
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