Kenya moves to cement AI policy; Russia building network of national alliances
Africa AI News weekly digest...
Good morning, and welcome to the sixth issue of Africa AI News – Weekly News Digest.
In this week’s issue we follow a number of national policy stories, where national governments are moving quickly to not only put clear policies in place, but start to mature them. And then decide whether or not to join Russia’s new AI Alliance Network, home to a smorgasbord of national AI regulators and researchers.
A reminder - we’ll suspend the digest over New Year, with the last issue for 2024 on the 20th December. We’ll start up again on Friday 10th January.
Let us know if you have any news you’d like to share, or your views on major AI stories affecting Africa and its people. Just reply to this email.
On with this week’s issue!
/Roger
Policy
Kenya publishes Diplomat’s Playbook on AI
#Kenya #policy - In news as much interesting as it is frustratingly vague, Kenya’s Office of the Special Envoy on Technology has launched a guide for its diplomats - about AI, its opportunities, risks and ethical use. Exactly what it covers is as yet unrevealed, but it is a clear sign that Kenya wants to drive the conversation about AI policy in Africa in a variety of theatres. (KBC)
Just as researcher publishes article on use of AI in protests in Kenya
#Kenya #regulation #politics - What happens when youth use social media to expose corruption, and AI tools to amplify it? The author looks at the volatile cocktail of social media and AI in a number of global protests, and how this should inform policy. (Modern Diplomacy)
South Africa and Brazil better get their AI show on the road
#SouthAfrica #BRICS #policy - While China and Russia are going hell for leather in AI, their BRICS partners in the Global South are lagging. Both the AI tech economy itself and the ability for AI to streamline traditional economies should be a bigger focus, says the Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI). (Afripoli.org)
Putin wants BRICS to join Russian AI axis
#policy #regulation #russia #globalsouth - The FOMO is strong … with Russia subject to punishing sanctions that restrict it getting the hardware it wants, it is pulling together an alliance of national AI associations from BRICS members Brazil, China, India and South Africa, but also from Serbia, Indonesia and other non-BRICS countries. Not clear if these countries are claimed or actual members of the AIAN. (Reuters)
AI Strategy
Algeria unveils next phase of National AI Strategy
#Algeria #AIStrategy - Algeria’s updated National AI Strategy was launched at the National AI Strategy Conference. Stakeholders discussed implementation plans through 2030 alongside the African Startup Conference. (Middle East AI News)
Egypt announces second phase of National AI Strategy
#Egypt #AIStrategy - Egypt will launch the next phase of its AI strategy in 2025, focusing on sector-wide AI integration, societal challenges, talent training, and improved compute infrastructure. (Egypt Today)
Kenyan government validates AI strategy through workshops
#Kenya #AIStrategy - In what appears to be a really progressive approach to regulation, Kenya’s Ministry of Information, Communictaion and The Digital Economy (MICD), already far ahead in its policymaking, ran workshops with various government, NGO and private sector players to check it is on the right track. (MICD Threads account)
G20
African AI should shape G20 priorities, say CSIR experts
#SouthAfrica #G20 - Experts from South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) advocate for African AI to influence the G20 agenda, focusing on global challenges like health, agriculture, and climate change. Speaking at SFSA 2024, they highlighted initiatives like Deep Learning Indaba, which spans 47 countries, as pivotal in leveraging Africa’s young, dynamic population. (CSIR)
Applications
AI improves malaria diagnosis accuracy in Uganda
#Uganda #healthcare – Makerere University’s AI Health Lab is advancing malaria diagnosis by integrating AI in rapid diagnostic tests and microscopy. The technology increases diagnostic accuracy for Uganda’s top killer disease, supporting effective treatment. (Devex)
African customs procedures can be double that of other territories
#applications #trade #customs - The Africa Trade Development Forum saw a number of speakers look at how AI can speed up customs procedures, reduce smuggling and improve trade. Being a heavily data-oriented function, with many built-in checks and balances, it is an ideal application. (allAfrica.com)
Botswana Diamonds discovers kimberlite anomalies using AI
#Botswana #mining – Botswana Diamonds has identified seven significant kimberlite anomalies using Planetary AI's 'Xplore' platform. The AI-driven programme analysed over 375,000 km of geophysical data alongside geological datasets, also revealing unlicensed polymetallic targets. (LSE)
Virtual AI “Chief Revenue Office” Salesforce.com agent
#applications #revenueassurance #SouthAfrica - Cloud23, a South African enterprise software house, has launched Fallon, an AI companion for Salesforce.com that also pulls in data from Slack and Google Suit to act as a virtual “Chief Revenue Officer” making sure companies get the money they earn. (Joburg ETC)
Cote d’Ivoire electricity utility plugs billings holes
#cotedivoire #energy #billing - Privatised utility Compagnie Ivoirienne d'Electricité (CIE) has been on a smart metering drive, and is now using the higher quality data with some AI tools to identify billing anomalies and fraud. (ESI Africa)
Economy
Need a quick primer on AI and it’s impact in South Africa?
#SouthAfrica #economy - Just published by actuarial science student, Lars Gumede, for the Inclusive Society Institute, this is a quick and interesting gallop through the nature of AI, it’s application in South Africa and the long term impact on the economy and labour force. (Inclusive Society)
UCC highlights AI's potential for Uganda’s economy
#Uganda #digitaltransformation – Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) Executive Director Nyombi Thembo emphasised AI’s potential to revolutionise healthcare, agriculture, and education in Uganda. Speaking at a stakeholder workshop, he called for partnerships to integrate AI into the digital transformation roadmap, fostering innovation and inclusivity. (Nile Post)
Data Centres
Huawei launches first local Cloud service in Nigeria
#Nigeria #Cloud #datacentres - Technical details are scant, but this is lauded as the first physically local Cloud service provider for Nigeria, running out of Tier 3 DC’s. This would allow Nigerian business to access low latency Cloud services that comply with the Nigerian Data Protection Commission. (Punch)
AI Readiness
South African firms lag in AI readiness
#SouthAfrica #ArtificialIntelligence – Only 18% of South African organisations are fully prepared to deploy AI technologies, according to the Cisco 2024 AI Readiness Index - South Africa version. The study surveyed 7,984 senior leaders globally, including 151 from South Africa. (ITWeb)
Events
Handy Tool to Find Your AI Conferences
#Africa #research #academic - Indian conference aggregator ConferenceAlerts has started popping up in searches for AI topics in Africa. Pick the country and topic filter (or hack the URL), and feast your eyes. Just as a dipstick, 14 in SA, 21 in Kenya, 27 in Nigeria, 5 in Zambia is a good bell-weather of where the R&D investment is going. (Conference Alerts)
[This newsletter was human edited and published on Friday the AIth]