AI in Africa opens up new battlefront for China, US

The US and China are in a new race to shape the development, use and governance of artificial intelligence in Africa, even as African countries scramble to devise their own AI policies.

The two countries have in recent weeks stepped up efforts to collaborate with African countries on attracting AI investment and formulating policy.

At the American Chamber of Commerce Business Summit in Nairobi last week, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and the Kenyan government signed a partnership agreement meant to enable American companies to invest in artificial intelligence and data centers in Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy. Raimondo said the deal would help “facilitate data flows, and empower digital upskilling.” Kenya, Microsoft and UAE’s G42 investment group also announced the construction of a 1 gigawatt (GW) data center powered by renewable energy near Nairobi.

China declared its intention to collaborate with African countries on AI at the China-Africa internet summit in the southeastern port city of Xiamen earlier in April, where discussions focused on China-Africa cooperation in the area. China’s Cyberspace Administration pushed for the establishment of a China-Africa AI policy as well as the promotion of AI technology research, development and application including in African learning institutions.

A handful of African countries, including Egypt, Rwanda and Mauritius, have so far published national AI strategies, while several others including Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa are in different stages of developing similar strategies. But regulation of AI is yet to be adopted on the continent, despite growing calls to do so.

“The law is playing catch up to the technology,” Emmanuel Kimeu, secretary, ICT Security in Kenya’s technology ministry, told Semafor Africa, likening the rise of AI to that of the mobile money product M-Pesa which was pioneered in Kenya in 2008 effectively without regulation.

He said the government was in talks with stakeholders including the private sector as it aims to develop new laws to guide AI governance in Kenya. A project to formulate a national AI strategy, backed by Germany and the European Union, was launched in April.

“We said before creating rules and guidelines, let’s first speak to the stakeholders.”

African countries must quickly channel significant resources towards AI research, development, policy formulation and applications in their countries if they are to avoid pitfalls including data breaches, lost revenue and bias in AI systems. Without this, foreign powers could take charge of the technology’s use on the continent.

This is also important to keep pace with the rest of the world. The EU in March passed its AI Act, described as the world’s first comprehensive AI law. China is pushing a new AI draft law similar to the EU’s, and US President Joe Biden in October last year issued an executive order on safe AI.

Stakeholder engagement is, however, key as some experts fear attempts to regulate a nascent AI sector on the continent could stifle innovation. Early attempts to regulate AI in Kenya, for instance, fell flat in the face of strong opposition from Kenya’s tech sector leaders, as Semafor Africa reported in December. They warned that the proposed regulation would raise the barrier of entry into the industry and push away founders and investors.

Getting AI right would allow the continent to effectively tap into its countless potential applications in areas including health, education and agriculture. Research suggests AI could add $1.5 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2030 if the continent can capture 10% of the market.

African leaders will have a chance to adopt the African Union’s AI policy draft framework at next year’s AU Heads of State summit in February. The draft includes recommendations on regulatory sandboxes for safe testing of AI, the establishment of national AI councils to oversee responsible deployment of the technology, and certification bodies to assess AI systems. They would, however, still need to push the laws through in their individual countries.

The UAE’s multi-billion dollar G42 investment group, whose investments are focused on AI, has set its sights on expanding across Africa. Besides its investment in the newly announced data center in Kenya alongside Microsoft, it is keen on investing in financial services on the continent.

“We are looking at different solutions that different countries in Africa will be interested in,” said G42 CTO Kiril Evmitov at this year’s World Governments Summit, highlighting Africa’s youthful population and its usage of mobile phones. “Financial services solutions will definitely be in the portfolio.”

Kenya in April also sealed an investment memorandum with the UAE on AI promotion and development that includes an assessment of the technical and investment potential of developing large language models.