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Tshilidzi Marwala (born 28 July 1971) is a South African artificial intelligence engineer, a computer scientist, a mechanical engineer and a university administrator. He is currently Rector of the United Nations University and UN Under-Secretary-General.

Early life and education

Marwala was born at Duthuni Village in the Limpopo Province. He obtained a PhD in artificial intelligence from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, graduating with a Magna Cum Laude. He attended school at Mbilwi Secondary School and St. John's College in Johannesburg.

Career

Marwala has been Rector of the United Nations University and UN Under-Secretary-General since 1 March 2023. Marwala was previously a vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Johannesburg. He was previously the deputy vice chancellor for research and internationalization as well as the dean of engineering at the University of Johannesburg and a professor of electrical engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand. He was a post-doctoral fellow at Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine. He served as a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Foundation and on a board of Nedbank.

One of the books he co-authored on modelling interstate conflict has been translated into Chinese by the National Defense Industry Press. His work and opinion have appeared in media such as New Scientist, Time, The Economist, CNN, and BBC. He has also given talks at Rhodes House, Royal Society, Cambridge Union, Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and Oxford Union. In 2016 Tshilidzi Marwala delivered the Bernard Price Memorial Lecture in South Africa. With Stephen Hawking and Guy Laliberté he was a judge of the YouTube Space Lab competition.

Academic contributions and research

Marwala's research interests include the theory and application of artificial intelligence to engineering, computer science, finance, economics, social science and medicine. Marwala and Israeli researcher Daniel Muller mathematically solved the St. Peterburg paradox using the concept of the relative net utility. Marwala and Bo Xing have also studied the relationship between blockchain and artificial intelligence. With Evan Hurwitz, Marwala was the first researcher to build software agents that can bluff on playing a game of poker.

Artificial intelligence and aerospace engineering

Marwala was one of the pioneers of using artificial intelligence in aeronautical engineering. His focus in this area was on using AI to detect faults in aerospace structures, and he published papers in journals of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics such as AIAA Journal and Journal of Aircraft.

Artificial intelligence and medical sciences

Marwala has worked on the application of artificial intelligence to health care. For example, he has used AI to diagnose pulmonary embolism and epileptic activity as well as understand HIV and Covid-19 He was a co-inventor of the innovative methods of radiation imaging and with Megan Jill Russell as well as David Rubin the artificial larynx.

Artificial intelligence and economics

Marwala and Evan Hurwitz proposed that there is less information asymmetry between two artificial intelligent agents than between two human agents and that the more artificial intelligence there is in the market, the less the volume of trades in the market. Tshilidzi Marwala and Evan Hurwitz in their book applied Lewis turning point theory to study the transition of the economy into automated production and identified an equilibrium point (Lewis turning point) where it does not make economic sense to move human labor to automated machines. Tshilidzi Marwala and Evan Hurwitz, in their book , observed that the advent of intelligent online buying platforms such as Amazon and technologies such as flexible manufacturing offers the opportunity for individualized supply and demand curves to be produced. They observed that these reduce the degree of arbitrage in the market, permitting individualized pricing for the same product and bringing fairness and efficiency into the market. Furthermore, with Evan Hurwitz in their book, they observed that decision-making and predicting machines that are executed using artificial intelligence and other machine learning techniques reduce the biases and variances of the errors on decision making and thus make decisions in a closer manner to the conclusions of rational expectations theory than human decision-makers. In his response to Bill Gates, Marwala has also brought to the attention the difficulty of taxing robots given the fact that a great deal of the devices that we use have robotics features. He has made fundamental contributions to engineering science, including the development of the concept of pseudo-modal energies, proposing the theory of rational counterfactual thinking, rational opportunity cost and the theory of flexibly bounded rationality. Marwala also observed that the applicability of prospect theory depends on how much artificial intelligence is used to make a decision. He also observed that the more artificial intelligence is used for decision-making, the more efficient the markets become. For example, if artificially intelligent machines make all decisions, the markets will be fully rational.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg

Fourth Industrial Revolution

As Vice-Chancellor, Marwala positioned the University of Johannesburg to drive the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) in South Africa to accelerate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs). To move the fourth industrial revolution, Marwala introduced a compulsory artificial intelligence course and an Africa Insights course for all students, irrespective of their majors. Furthermore, he introduced Africa by Bus Project, where thousands of students travel by bus to various African countries to understand the African continent.

Rankings

Under his leadership, the University of Johannesburg was ranked first in Africa in the 2021 Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and first globally for Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8). In the 2023 Times Higher Education Impact Ranking, it was ranked first in Africa and globally for SDG 1 (no poverty). From 2018 to 2022, the University of Johannesburg increased research output from sixth position to position first in South Africa. Furthermore, according to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ranking, UJ increased from being number 5 in Africa in 2021 (announced in 2020) to number 2 in Africa in 2023 (announced in 2022).

Fundraising

Marwala is a formidable fundraiser, and under his leadership, the University of Johannesburg increased its endowment from US$61 million to US$200 million from 2018 to 2022. During his tenure, the University of Johannesburg purchased and financed two additional campuses, Devland Campus (US$10million) and Media 24 Park (US$20 million), and completed the Soweto Residence Complex (US$30million). Furthermore, the University of Johannesburg increased electricity consumption from solar energy from 0% to 15% from 2018 to 2022.

Institutes

Marwala was the brainchild of the establishment of the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study, UJ Press, Johannesburg Business School, Institute of Future Studies, with University of West Indies the Institute for Global African Affairs and Institute of Intelligent Systems.

United Nations

As the Rector of the United Nations University, Marwala has secured $65 million to establish the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Bologna, Italy. This Institute will be located near the supercomputing facility, including the Leonardo supercomputer. Marwala has also worked with the United Nations through agencies such as UNESCO, UNIDO, WHO, ITU, ILO, UNICEF, and WIPO. He was a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) committee that developed the ethical guidelines of using artificial intelligence in medicine. Furthermore, he was a member of the committee that developed the international accord on open data for the International Council for Science (ICSU) in Paris. Institute of Future Studies, with University of West Indies the Institute for Global African Affairs and Institute of Intelligent Systems.

Governments

Marwala has served globally and nationally on policymaking bodies. Most recently, he was the Deputy Chair of South Africa’s Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (with the President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa serving as Chair). This committee developed the country’s fourth industrial revolution strategy. Continentally, Marwala is the Chair of the International Scientific Advisory Board for the African Centre of Excellence in the Internet of Things (ACE-IoT) based in Rwanda. The government of Namibia appointed him on the Fourth Industrial Revolution Task Team.

Other activities

Corporate boards

• Nedbank (2019-2023)

Nonprofits

• Trustee of the Nelson Mandela Foundation (2020-2023)

Visiting appointments

Marwala has been a visiting fellow at Harvard University, Wolfson College, Cambridge, and University of California, Berkeley He is an honorary professor at the Nanjing Tech University as well as the Central South University in The People's Republic of China.

Awards and honors

Marwala is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, TWAS, and the African Academy of Sciences. In high school he won the National Youth Science Olympiad and represented South Africa in the London International Youth Science Forum. He is the recipient of the Order of Mapungubwe. In 2022, Marwala was awarded the IT Personality of the Year Award in South Africa for his work on the fourth industrial revolution. Marwala has received honorary doctorates from the Caucasus University in Tbilisi in Georgia and the University of Venda.

Books

• Tshilidzi Marwala (2010). Finite Element Model Updating Using Computational Intelligence Techniques: Applications to Structural Dynamics. Heidelberg: Springer. ISBN 978-1-84996-322-0.
• Tshilidzi Marwala; Monica Lagazio (2011). Militarized Conflict Modeling Using Computational Intelligence. Heidelberg: Springer. ISBN 978-0-85729-789-1.
• Tshilidzi Marwala (2012). Condition Monitoring Using Computational Intelligence Methods. Heidelberg: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4471-2380-4.
• Tshilidzi Marwala (2013). Economic Modeling Using Artificial Intelligence Methods. Heidelberg: Springer. ISBN 978-1-84996-323-7.
• Tshilidzi Marwala (2014). Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Rational Decision Making. Heidelberg: Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-11423-1.
• Tshilidzi Marwala (2015). Causality, Correlation, and Artificial Intelligence for Rational Decision Making. Singapore: World Scientific. ISBN 978-9-814-63086-3.
• Tshilidzi Marwala; Ilyes Boulkaibet; Sondipon Adhikari (2016). Probabilistic Finite Element Model Updating Using Bayesian Statistics: Applications to Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering. London: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-15303-0.
• Tshilidzi Marwala; Evan Hurwitz (2017). Artificial Intelligence and Economic Theory: Skynet in the Market. London: Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-66104-9.
• Bo Xing; Tshilidzi Marwala (2018). Smart Maintenance for Human–Robot Interaction: An Intelligent Search Algorithmic Perspective. London: Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-67480-3.
• Bo Xing; Tshilidzi Marwala (2018). Smart Computing in Crowdfunding. London: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-138-57771-8.
• Tshilidzi Marwala (2018). Handbook of Machine Learning Volume 1: Foundation of Artificial Intelligence. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. ISBN 978-981-3271-22-7.
• Tshilidzi Marwala; Collins Achepsah Leke (2019). Handbook of Machine Learning Volume 2: Optimization and Decision Making. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. ISBN 978-981-120-566-8.
• Collins Achepsah Leke; Tshilidzi Marwala (2019). Deep Learning and Missing Data in Engineering Systems: Applications to Engineering Systems. London: Springer. ISBN 978-3030011796.
• Doorsamy Wesley; Sena Paul; Tshilidzi Marwala (2020). The Disruptive Fourth Industrial Revolution. London: Springer. ISBN 978-3-030-48230-5.
• Tankiso Moloi; Tshilidzi Marwala (2020). Artificial Intelligence in Economics and Finance Theories. London: Springer. ISBN 978-3-030-42961-4.
• Tshilidzi Marwala (2020). Closing the Gap: The Fourth Industrial Revolution in Africa. Johannesburg: Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-77010-786-1.
• Tshilidzi Marwala (2021). Rational Machines and Artificial Intelligence. Amsterdam: Academic Press. ISBN 9780128206768.
• Bhaso Ndzendze; Tshilidzi Marwala (2021). Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies in International Relations. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. ISBN 978-981-123-454-5.
• Tshilidzi Marwala (2021). Leading in the 21st Century: The Call for a New Type of African Leader. Johannesburg: Tracey McDonald Publishers. ISBN 978-1-77626-083-6.
• Tshilidzi Marwala (2021). Leadership Lessons from Books I Read. Johannesburg: Tracey McDonald Publishers. ISBN 9781776260928.
• Tankiso Moloi; Tshilidzi Marwala (2021). Artificial Intelligence and the Changing Nature of Corporations. London: Springer. ISBN 978-3-030-76313-8.
• Daniel Muller; Fernando Buarque; Tshilidzi Marwala (2022). On Rationality, Artificial Intelligence and Economics. Singapore: World Scientific. ISBN 978-981-125-511-3.
• Bhaso Ndzendze; Tshilidzi Marwala (2023). Artificial Intelligence and International Relations Theories. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-9811948763.
• Tshilidzi Marwala; Rendani Mbuvha; Wilson Tsakane Mongwe (2023). Hamiltonian Monte Carlo Methods in Machine Learning. Amsterdam: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0443190353.

Patents

• D.M. Starfield, D.M. Rubin and T. Marwala. United States Patent: 20080296504 “Method and Apparatus for Radiation Imaging”.https://patents.google.com/patent/US20120106699
• D.M. Starfield, D.M. Rubin and T. Marwala. United States Patent: 20110190616A1 “Coded Aperture Masks for Radiation-Based Medical Imaging”. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20110190616A1/en
• M.J. Russell, D.M. Rubin, B. Wigdorowitz and T. Marwala. United States Patent: 9129595B2 “An Artificial Larynx”. https://patents.google.com/patent/US9129595B2/en?inventor=marwala&oq=marwala
• Dipanjan Paul Tshilidzi Marwala, and Satyakama Paul. (WO2019224739A1) System and method for real-time prediction of water level and hazard level of a dam. https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2019224739A1/en
• Tshilidzi Marwala, Rendani Mbuvha. United States Patent: 20210350928. A system and method for imputing missing data in a dataset, a method and system for determining a health condition of a person, and a method and system of calculating an insurance premium. https://patents.justia.com/patent/20210350928

Publications

• Tshilidzi Marwala (2003). "Fault classification using pseudo modal energies and neural networks". American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Journal. 41 (1): 82–89. Bibcode:2003AIAAJ..41...82M. doi:10.2514/2.1916.
• Tshilidzi Marwala; M. Lagazio (2006). "Assessing different Bayesian neural network models for militarized interstate dispute". Social Science Computer Review. 24 (1): 119–131. doi:10.1177/0894439305281512. S2CID 62709888.
• D. Lunga, T. Marwala. Online forecasting of stock market movement direction using the improved incremental algorithm. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, In Neural Information Processing, Springer Berlin / Heidelberg, Volume 4234, 2006, pp. 440–449.
• Tshilidzi Marwala (2005). "The national democratic revolution, technology and a developed economy". Umrabulo. 22: 58–60.
• Tshilidzi Marwala; T.N. Tim (2006). Sun I. Kim; Tae Suk Sah (eds.). "Computational Intelligence Methods for Risk Assessment of HIV. Proceedings of the International Federation of Medical and Biological Engineering". Ifmbe Proceedings. 14. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag: 3581–3585. ISSN 1727-1983..
• Tshilidzi Marwala; S. Chakraverty (2006). "Fault classification in structures with incomplete measured data using autoassociative neural networks and genetic algorithm". Current Science. 90 (4): 542–548.

References

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External links

• Biography

• 1971 births
• Living people
• Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations
• Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• The World Academy of Sciences
• People from Thulamela Local Municipality
• Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
• Case Western Reserve University alumni
• University of Pretoria alumni
• Science and technology in South Africa
• Alumni of St John's College (Johannesburg)
• Vice-Chancellors of University of Johannesburg
• South African engineers
• South African inventors
• South African scientists
• South African computer scientists
• 21st-century inventors
• Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences