The Impact of AI and ICT on the Economic Development of Some West African Countries

This study examined the fundamental association between Artificial Intelligence, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and economic growth in some West African countries. The study acquired data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the selected countries and analysed these data sets for comparison. The findings of the study show that countries with high investment in AI and ICT have better economies, with high GDP as compared to countries that have little or no investment in both. We used several variables such as mobile telephony penetration rates, rate and number of other several ICT acquisitions; these data were acquired from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and world development indicators from the World Bank databases. Our findings went further to show that two major telephone systems, the fixed telephone line and mobile phone penetration together are highly able to promote economic growth. This shows that ICT is a catalyst when it comes to economic development of nations and their economies. It also shows that while some variables could improve economies or lead to arithmetic growth, AI and ICT will give rise to geometric growth. The West African countries should prioritize the allocation of resources to the development of the various ICT infrastructure and artificial intelligence digital tools, while minimizing the negative effects of inflation and government wasteful consumption.