Tregter is proud to announce that its AI-powered Chatbot – a collaborative project with the Do More Foundation, will be featured at the BRICS Youth Innovation Summit, scheduled to take place in Cape Town, South Africa in April this year.
The Eat Love Play Talk (ELPT) Chatbot has revolutionized how data is collected and can be leveraged to address challenges in early childhood development programmes (ECDs). Caregivers, and NGO ground workers can now input data on child nutrition, education and well-being into the ELPT Chatbot that is hosted on the widely accessed Whatsapp platform where the data is collected, stored on a data lake, and analysed.
“This tool is a game-changer in capturing real-time, high-quality data from a diverse set of communities, including those in underserved and rural areas. By consolidating this information into a unified Data Lake, the project enables advanced analytics and predictive modeling to drive evidence-based decision-making.”
“The project currently supports approximately 2500 caregivers annually, benefiting over 6000 children. These caregivers gain access to actionable insights and resources, while the broader dataset informs policymakers, practitioners and government about trends and gaps in ECD services, and what resource allocations or potential changes in regulations and legislation are needed,” says Ferdinand Steenkamp, Co-founder at Tregter.
The chatbot also strengthens engagement between caregivers and the Do More Foundation, creating and enabling a culture of shared learning and empowerment. Ultimately, this collaboration demonstrates the transformative potential of AI and big data in creating scalable, sustainable solutions for social good.
Steenkamp continued that “the rapid advancement of AI has come with attendant consequences. In many instances there has been abuse of the platform for some, elevating the debate around the ethical use of this technology. A recent example includes where a Pietermaritzburg-based law firm had allegedly used AI to draft court papers, citing several cases that could not be verified. The law firm lost their case, where the presiding judge also ordered for the matter to be referred to the Legal Practice Council for further investigation. This incident underscores why striving to continue finding solutions for AI can be leveraged for the upliftment and empowerment of mankind.”
Data collection on ECD in South Africa remains largely inadequate, especially from underserved and rural communities. Traditional methods have fallen victim to resource constraints, logistical barriers and accessibility challenges. AI technology changes the game but for the good of mankind. A Whatsapp chat bot goes a long way in accelerating the outputs of cash and resource-strapped NGOs who continue to serve as a vital bridge in data gaps of society.
“However, without a sustainable data governance framework, the world continues to lose out on key opportunities to identify trends and make predictions. Because our world is developing faster, there is a need for more predictability. While the data age we are now in comes with many positives, without a structured framework for sufficient data collection and analysis, mankind becomes lost in technology that becomes unreliable – precisely how the Pietermaritzburg law firm ended up using faulty information. The future development of AI requires human guidance, supported by the right data, Steenkamp concluded.”