Afrika Techno Policy

Whether one views AI as a bubble or a boom, it must eventually end. If it is a bubble, AI may be sustained as improbably long as cryptocurrency, but it will inevitably subside. However, if AI is a burgeoning general technology, it will eventually become embedded in various other products and services. At that point, AI will no longer draw the same levels of investment and public scrutiny that it currently does. One question remains invisible in the formulation of AI policy across the African  continent: What will the legacy of AI be, and specifically, what infrastructure will remain after AI?  The shaping of AI's contribution to the future, through policy, implementation, and investment—whether aligned with national processes or not—seems curiously elided in the current AI debate. Lessons from South Africa's Minerals Revolution   In contemplating the end of AI in Africa, it is useful to reflect on the minerals revolution in Southern Africa that began in the 1860s and resh...

AI technologies are revolutionizing multiple economic sectors, in multiple jurisdictions across the globe. They are transforming the traditional sense of healthcare provision, insurance, education, finance, and others, in ways never seen before. While this transformation is attributed to perception of AI’s efficiency, one must not ignore its negative social impact. In the wake of this disruption, and the urgent need to seek a balancing act in its implementation, society also needs to seek and find justice in AI’s benefits - namely, an idea of fairness, equality, and order. In that hierarchy, law should be seen not as the ultimate goal but as one of the tools which can be deployed to ensure there is justice. Role of Law in Managing AI Disruption Society must be concerned with the need to manage disruptions brought by AI, to ensure that it's disruptive force does not result in additional discrimination, inequality, or unfairness. Laws passed in the form of Executive Orders, Acts, an...