Policy Impacts in Africa

Case Studies of AI Policy Development in Africa

Authors: Kadijatou Diallo, Jonathan Smith, Chinasa T. Okolo, Dorcas Nyamwaya, Jonas Kgomo, Richard Ngamita

Artificial Intelligence (AI) requires new ways of evaluating national technology use and strategy for African nations. We conduct a survey of existing 'readiness' assessments both for general digital adoption and for AI policy in particular. We conclude that existing global readiness assessments do not fully capture African states' progress in AI readiness and lay the groundwork for how assessments can be better used for the African context. We consider the extent to which these indicators map to the African context and what these indicators miss in capturing African states' on-the-ground work in meeting AI capability. Through case studies of four African nations of diverse geographic and economic dimensions, we identify nuances missed by global assessments and offer high-level policy considerations for how states can best improve their AI readiness standards and prepare their societies to capture the benefits of AI.

Subjects: Computers and Society (cs.CY); Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI); Machine Learning (cs.LG)

Cite as: arXiv:2403.14662 [cs.CY] (or arXiv:2403.14662v1 [cs.CY] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2403.14662

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