Africa's calls to regulate AI grow louder

The rapid development in artificial intelligence, or AI, has had the effect of disrupting and transforming socioeconomic activities across industries ranging from health, trade, education and even the mitigation of climate change.

However, as industries and governments across the globe are positioning themselves to tap into and exploit these possibilities, experts argue that African countries need to tackle governance issues and lack of institutional and infrastructural capacity to establish the building blocks that will allow them to benefit from artificial intelligence.

They added that Africa needs supportive policies and robust infrastructure to tap the limitless opportunities of artificial intelligence to quicken its development. Though it is important to regulate the use of AI in Africa to avert its risks, the experts said that the continent should not wait to have the regulations in place in order to embrace the technology.