SNG: Amazon CTO: The future is African, but let’s educate everyone on AI

Faustine Ngila

Amazon’s Chief Technology Officer, Werner Vogels is responsible for driving the company’s customer-centric technology vision. Dr Vogels joined the American multinational technology company, which is engaged in e-commerce (it is the world’s largest online retailer), cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence, in 2004 from Cornell University, where he was a distributed systems researcher.

During his recent visit to Nairobi, he spoke to The EastAfrican about how Amazon envisions its technological and ethical responsibilities in 2025 and beyond, with Africa as a central focus.

What drew you to sub-Saharan Africa, and what potential did you observe in terms of digital innovation?I make it a point to visit regions every year, as it’s vital to understand how business and innovation evolve globally. Sub-Saharan Africa stood out for me because of its remarkably young and increasingly educated population, particularly in Nigeria, Rwanda and Kenya, where the median age is under 25. Many of these young people are not just tech-savvy but deeply committed to solving real societal challenges through innovation.

What excites me most is their focus, not on becoming the next unicorn, but on using technology to address complex problems in health, agriculture and education. Organisations like ALX are playing a crucial role in this transformation by equipping youth with practical, skills-based training that goes beyond formal education.

I see enormous potential here. Just as India and Vietnam became global hubs for outsourcing and development, I believe Africa is poised to become the next major force in digital innovation.

Amazon has been supporting small modular reactors (SMRs). How do you deal with the historical public scepticism around nuclear energy?The rapid rise of digital technologies presents immense opportunities, but also significant responsibilities, chief among them ensuring our innovations are sustainable.

At Amazon, our top priority is to power our infrastructure in a way that does not harm the planet. We achieved 100 percent renewable energy usage across our global operations in 2023, ahead of our 2025 commitment, and remain the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy.

However, we recognise that access to renewables is not always immediate or consistent across all regions. That’s why we invest in over 600 clean energy projects globally, including solar, wind and geothermal.

As part of our exploration into future-ready energy solutions, we are also evaluating the potential of SMRs to contribute to a zero-carbon future.

We are aware of the historical concerns surrounding nuclear energy, particularly related to safety and waste management, but recent advancements in reactor design and regulation offer promising new pathways.

Similar to how artificial intelligence and other transformative technologies require education and skill development, SMRs will depend heavily on a highly trained workforce to ensure safe and responsible deployment.

Ultimately, sustainability is not only about deploying new technologies, it’s about building the expertise and systems around them to ensure long-term safety, reliability, and impact.

As generative AI and cloud computing rapidly reshape Africa’s digital landscape, what role does education play?Education has become an essential foundation for AI, both for individuals and organisations, to harness innovations responsibly and effectively.

We strongly believe that continuous learning is critical in a fast-evolving technological world. It’s not enough to rely on formal education alone; practical, skills-based training is increasingly vital. Organisations must invest in upskilling their teams and individuals must remain curious and committed to lifelong learning.

To support this, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has already trained more than 300,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa in cloud technologies.

We actively collaborate with institutions like ALX, which provides AWS certifications, and we work closely with ministries to ensure that universities integrate cloud computing and AI into their curricula. Our goal isn’t simply to grow AWS users, it’s to empower people to choose the best technology to solve their unique challenges.

AI consumes a lot of electricity. In the US, it is expected to account for nine percent of national consumption by 2030. So, how is Amazon planning to future-proof its infrastructure?There are two core strategies we are implementing. First, we’ve fundamentally transformed the economic model of computing. Traditionally, businesses had to make large upfront investments in infrastructure, often based on uncertain future needs.

AWS introduced a pay-as-you-go model that aligns costs directly with resource usage. This model inherently promotes sustainability, by using only what you need, you minimise waste and energy consumption.

This is especially relevant in the age of generative AI. Large models with billions or trillions of parameters can be significantly costlier and energy-intensive than smaller, task-specific models.

At AWS, we give customers the flexibility to choose the most efficient model for their application, helping reduce both environmental and financial costs. Smaller models can be just as effective for certain use cases while consuming a fraction of the power.

Second, our infrastructure innovation is ongoing. We operate millions of servers globally and continuously optimise our data centres for energy efficiency. For instance, by designing our own hardware—including ARM-based Graviton chips and Inferentia AI accelerators, we’ve achieved up to 50 percent greater energy efficiency compared to general-purpose processors.

We’ve also re-engineered elements of our data centres, such as eliminating unnecessary energy transformations by building power supplies directly into our server architecture.

We’re also focused on maximising community impact. In Ireland, for example, we repurposed excess heat from our data centres to warm nearby homes, demonstrating how infrastructure can serve both global technology needs and local communities.

Ultimately, our view is clear: We cannot accelerate the adoption of powerful technologies like AI without also addressing their environmental impact.

You’ve said a number of times that we’re on the cusp of a movement where AI tools empower citizens to verify information in real time. Which tools do you use and how do you ensure that they are not misused?Yes, AI has the potential to empower citizens with tools to verify information in real time. However, this progress also brings with it the risk of misinformation, disinformation and manipulation through deep fakes.

One of the major challenges today is the public’s access to credible information. People are increasingly relying on social media as their primary news source, studies show that over half of the population in some countries get news from these platforms rather than traditional outlets.

Yet, when you compare reports from different international media houses, it’s clear that narratives often diverge. This raises a critical question: what constitutes the truth?At Amazon, we take seriously the responsibility of supporting trustworthy digital ecosystems. One of our core leadership principles is: With scale comes broad responsibility. Even if fact-checking isn’t our core business, we believe it is our duty to help build the infrastructure that supports transparency and accountability in the digital age.

We are exploring how AI can be used to develop better content verification tools, including image recognition, geolocation analysis and real-time media verification systems. These tools could allow users to identify where and when a photo was taken or assess whether a video clip has been digitally manipulated.

It is equally important to distinguish between responsibility and ethics. While ethics may evolve with cultural and technological shifts, responsibility is constant. We must design AI technologies that are accountable by default, especially in areas like media integrity and public trust.

I believe that the younger generation, digital natives who are passionate about truth and transparency, will lead the charge in developing tools that counter disinformation.

At Amazon, we want to support that mission by investing in and helping to scale the responsible technologies that safeguard public discourse.

You are a firm advocate of using hyperlocal community-sourced data in building solutions for people, especially in disaster resilience. How might AWS help with this?During my visits to sub-Saharan Africa, I often ask a fundamental question: How accurate are your maps? The reality is that commercial mapping solutions tend to focus on commercially viable regions, leaving vast rural areas underserved. This gap can hinder healthcare delivery, emergency response and disaster recovery.

To address this, we actively support initiatives like the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, which gathers essential geographic data in remote regions. Their work enables better coordination of relief efforts and improved infrastructure planning.

Notably, their chief technology officer is part of our AWS CTO Fellowship, a programme designed to mentor and equip technologists in mission-driven organisations with the leadership skills and tools needed to scale their impact.

We also believe in supporting localised, sustainable solutions. In areas where access to national energy grids is limited, decentralised solar-powered systems, paired with battery storage, offer immediate and scalable impact.

During my visits, I’ve seen first-hand how something as simple as a solar lamp can empower schoolchildren to study at night, transforming educational outcomes in underserved communities.

By fostering grassroots innovation and equipping local organisations with advanced tools and mentorship, we strengthen community resilience through technology.

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