With a good enough model, could we throw the bones and predict the impact of the Deep Learning Indaba on ourselves, and on the continent?

Rarely, with the benefit of hindsight, there is a moment that stands out as wildly impactful. For me, attending the Deep Learning Indaba (DLI) in 2022 was one of those milestones. A year into a tough PhD programme overseas with a heavy theoretical machine learning course load, I was struggling with self-doubt and imposter syndrome. The Indaba in Tunisia was my first after five years, yet it felt like I belonged. The DLI re-rooted my commitment to Africa and my goal of giving back to our community.

I like to think of my Indaba re-rooting using the analogy of “throwing bones”, which has three meanings for me: the bones that form the core knowledge skeleton; the bones of prediction; and the bones we use to help others. First, as a medical doctor, the skeleton is what holds the body together: the fundamentals. Second, as a theoretical neuroscience and machine learning researcher, the throwing of the bones (or amathambo) for divination by Zulu and Xhosa traditional healers (sangomas), speaks strongly to the problem of prediction. And third, the act of throwing someone a bone – offering a small piece of help – is a meaning of amathambo that has become clear to me in reflection.

The company I co-created out of the 2022 Indaba’s Ideathon, Amathambo AI, has put all three of these concepts together in our quest to predict patient load and manage staff rostering in healthcare. The beautiful name was suggested by my fellow conspirators and founders, two long-time Indaba stalwarts and friends, Simphiwe Zitha and Sicelukwanda Zwane. Our journey embodies the three amathambo principles:

  1. They have thrown me many bones! Being able to trust and lean on one’s team is essential.
  2. We have been cautious to stick to the skeleton in the product we are building – we have kept the tech simple, because we know that we are solving an important problem.
  3. We have been mindful to not get too caught up in our researcher-brains: to take time to predict not just patient load data, but also our future and our business’s future.

While these sound straightforward, I am reminded that there would be no Amathambo AI without the Indaba community, who have thrown me so, so many bones. From organisers and keynotes giving up time, to sharing a lift, to eating together, to exchanging both cultural and scientific ideas, to enabling internship opportunities, to being able to access sustained mentorship and advice – these small puzzle pieces have played a huge role in growing me as a researcher and participant in the African machine learning community. Importantly, I think I owe a large part of my journey to simply being at the Indaba in 2022.

“The family is like the forest: if you are outside it is dense; if you are inside you see that each tree has its own position.”

– Akan Proverb, shared by Yaa Gyasi in Homegoing, an excellent book contrasting the author’s birthplace in Ghana to modern USA across generations of slavery.

There’s something special about the rootedness and connection of going home, and it’s how I felt when I left Tunisia. “Homegoing” to the Indaba gets better with every mindful interaction. Choosing to be involved, to put the community’s interests above one’s own, to be present: these are how we continue to grow our space, and throw bones of knowledge and support to one another.

I encourage everyone to get involved in the Indaba. This does not need to look like leaping to join the main organising committee from the get-go. For me, it means reflecting on your path and finding the next meaningful step (see James Allingham’s suggestions in last month’s edition), including those that also help another member of the community. I started by simply attending – joining an Ideathon team sharing my interests – then slowly realised where I could make more and more impact.

So, throw someone a bone, be sure to build and nourish your own knowledge skeleton, and may the bones continue to point towards an AI future with strong, interconnected roots across the continent.

– Kira Düsterwald. 2025 Programme Chair (Keynotes), 2024 Programme Chair (Practicals), multi-year practicals developer and tutor, and long-time attendee. April 2025.