by MTHULISI SIBANDA
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – SIX countries from the continent and the African Union Commission have signed a landmark global pact on artificial intelligence (AI).
Djibouti, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa are part of the signatories of the pact signed at the just concluded AI Action Summit in Paris, France.
The meeting, with participants from over 100 countries, was in line with the Paris Pact for People and the Planet.
The signatories, numbering 60, affirmed to promote AI accessibility to reduce digital divides, ensuring AI is open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure and trustworthy, taking into account international frameworks for all.
They affirmed to make innovation in AI thrive by enabling conditions for its development and avoiding market concentration driving industrial recovery and development and encouraging AI deployment that positively shapes the future of work and labour markets as well as deliver opportunities for sustainable growth.
They committed to making AI sustainable for people and the planet as well as reinforcing international cooperation to promote coordination in international governance.
To deliver on these priorities, the founding members have launched a major Public Interest AI Platform and Incubator.
According to a communiqué issued at the end of the summit, to support, amplify, decrease fragmentation between existing public and private initiatives on Public Interest AI and address digital divides.
The Public Interest AI initiative is to sustain and support digital public goods and technical assistance as well as capacity building projects in data, model development, openness and transparency, audit, compute, talent, financing and collaboration to support and co-create an ecosystem advancing the public interest.
“We look forward to next AI milestones such as the Kigali Summit, the third Global Forum on the Ethics of AI hosted by Thailand and UNESCO and 2025 World AI Conference and the AI for Good Global Summit 2025 to follow up on our commitments and continue to take concrete actions aligned with a sustainable and inclusive AI,” read the communiqué.
The summit in Kigali, Rwanda is set for April.
– CAJ News