U.S. envoy underscores guidelines for AI devt

Deputy Secretary of State, United States, Kurt Campbell, has said guidelines must be established for the safe, secure, and trustworthy development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to advance shared values, promote fairness, transparency, and accountability.

According to him, guidelines are key, as AI has the potential to significantly boost economic growth, create jobs, and enhance productivity across various sectors.

He spoke at the Global Inclusivity and AI: Africa (GIAA) conference hosted by the U.S. Department of State in partnership with the Government of Nigeria, yesterday in Lagos.

Campbell, emphasising Africa’s growing importance in the global technology landscape, said the race to develop and deploy new technologies including artificial intelligence was already shaping everything.

He noted that the African Union’s landmark AI strategy had set the roadmap for African countries to harness AI’s potential to achieve developmental aspirations in education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, peace, and security and good governance.

He said that for AI to work in Africa, it required developing human capital, strengthening research and innovation ecosystems, building an AI-ready institutional and regulatory environment.

“AI can also play a significant role in achieving the sustainable development goals in Africa, offering solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of today,” he added.

Acting Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology, United States Department of State, Dr Seth Center, emphasised the need for government to play an important role in channeling, shaping technology revolution.

He noted that researchers had anticipated that up to 80 per cent of the world’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could be accelerated through artificial intelligence.

Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, said that as technology continued to evolve, it would empower society to address complex problems with creativity, efficiency and unprecedented leverage, ultimately paving the way for the most equitable future.

He stressed that AI was not just another technology trend, but a significant catalyst for change, which had the potential to revolutionise healthcare, education, finance and governance.

“More importantly, AI offers countries, like ours, the chance to reform traditional development challenges,” he added.