#中美競争##非洲##人工智能#
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盡管非洲國家正競相制定自己的人工智能政策，但美國和中國正在進行塑造非洲人工智能發展、使用和治理的新競賽。
最近幾周，兩國加大了與非洲國家在吸引人工智能投資和制定政策方面的合作力度。
在上周在内羅畢舉行的美國商會商業峰會上，美國商務部長吉娜·雷蒙多和肯亞政府簽署了一項合作夥伴協定，以使美國公司能夠投資東非最大經濟體肯亞的人工智能和資料中心。雷蒙多表示，該交易将有助于“促進資料流動，并增強數字技能”。肯亞、微軟和阿聯酋的G42投資集團也宣布在内羅畢附近建設一個由可再生能源供電的10億瓦規模的資料中心。
美非商業論壇
今年4月初，在中國東南部港口城市廈門舉行的中非網際網路峰會上，中國宣布将與非洲國家在人工智能方面進行合作。該峰會重點聚焦中非在人工智能領域的合作，中國網絡資訊辦公室拟推動制定中非人工智能和促進包括非洲教育機構在内的人工智能技術研究、開發和應用的政策。
包括埃及、盧旺達和模裡西斯在内的幾個非洲國家迄今已經公布了國家人工智能戰略，而包括奈及利亞、肯亞和南非在内的其他幾個國家正處于制定類似戰略的不同階段。盡管呼聲越來越高，但對人工智能的監管在非洲大陸仍未到位。
肯亞技術部資訊和通信技術安全秘書伊曼紐爾·基梅告訴《旗語新聞社》：“法律正在追趕技術。”他将人工智能的崛起比作2008年在肯亞尚無監管的情況下率先推出并有效營運的移動銀行M-Pesa。
中國援建的肯亞鐵路
他表示，政府正在與包括私營部門在内的利益相關者進行談判，旨在制定新的法律來指導肯亞的人工智能治理。在德國和歐盟的支援下，一個制定國家人工智能戰略的項目于今年4月啟動。
基梅說：“我們說過，在制定規則和指導方針之前，讓我們先與利益相關者談談。"
非洲國家要想避免資料洩露、收入損失和人工智能系統的偏見等陷阱，就必須迅速引導大量資源投入人工智能的研究、開發、政策制定和應用。沒有這些，外部大國可能會主導這項技術在非洲大陸的使用。
這對于跟上世界其他國家的步伐也很重要。歐盟在3月通過了其人工智能法案，被稱為世界上第一個全面的人工智能法案。中國正在推動一項類似于歐盟的新的人工智能法律草案，美國總統喬·拜登在去年10月釋出了一項關于人工智能安全的行政指令。
然而，利益相關者的參與是關鍵。因為一些專家擔心，監管非洲大陸新興的人工智能行業的嘗試可能會扼殺創新。例如，正如《旗語新聞非洲分社》去年12月報道的那樣，早期在肯亞監管人工智能的嘗試遭到了肯亞科技行業領袖的強烈反對，他們警告說，拟議中的監管規定将提高進入該行業的門檻，并吓走創業人和投資者。
正确使用人工智能将使非洲大陸能夠有效地利用其在衛生、教育和農業等領域的無數潛在機會。研究表明，如果非洲大陸到2030年時能夠獲得10%的世界市場佔有率，人工智能可能會為非洲經濟增加1.5萬億美元。
非洲上司人将有機會在明年2月舉行的非盟國家首腦峰會上通過非洲聯盟的人工智能政策架構草案。該草案包括關于人工智能安全測試的監管沙合建議，建立國家人工智能委員會以監督負責任的有效技術應用和評估人工智能系統的認證機構。然而，他們仍然需要在各自的國家推動立法。
AI in Africa opens up new battlefront for China, US. By Martin K.N Siele on Semafor, April 30, 2024.
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.