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Source: People's Daily

The first African High-level Forum on the Development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology was recently held in Salé, Morocco. The forum was jointly organized by the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University of Morocco and UNESCO, with the theme of "AI Technology: A Lever for African Development". Representatives from about 30 countries and regions attended the discussion. The forum also adopted the "Rabat Consensus" on promoting the application of artificial intelligence technology in Africa.

The delegates believed that the application prospects of artificial intelligence technology are broad and Africa cannot miss its development opportunities. At the same time, Africa has problems such as backward infrastructure in the development of artificial intelligence technology. Artificial intelligence technology may also bring risks such as infringement of personal privacy, threat to data security and the proliferation of false information. African countries need to strengthen coordination to promote artificial intelligence technology to better assist economic and social development.

In recent years, many African countries have actively developed the artificial intelligence industry. In 2019, the Kenyan government released a national artificial intelligence strategy, which regards artificial intelligence and blockchain as "key economic and business support technologies"; in May this year, it launched the "artificial intelligence standard" to help enterprises and the public sector develop, provide or use artificial intelligence systems. It is reported that this standard will take effect at the end of September this year.

Among regional countries, Egypt's digital economy started early and has a good foundation for developing the artificial intelligence industry. In 2023, Egypt's digital service exports rose to US$6.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 26.5%. The Egyptian government established the National Committee on Artificial Intelligence in 2019 and released the National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence in 2021. In 2023, the Egyptian National Committee on Artificial Intelligence announced the "Egypt Responsible Artificial Intelligence Standards", which aims to promote the sustainable development of Egypt's artificial intelligence industry, including technology application, ecosystem establishment, infrastructure construction, governance mechanisms and ethical norms.

At present, South Africa ranks first in the number of artificial intelligence companies and the scale of financing in Africa, and the application of artificial intelligence technology in many fields such as agriculture, medical care and energy is developing rapidly. Not long ago, the South African Military Academy in the Western Cape Province officially established the "National Defense Artificial Intelligence Research Center" to carry out research on the application of artificial intelligence in the fields of defense and national security. This is the fourth artificial intelligence research center in South Africa and the first artificial intelligence research institution in Africa that focuses on the field of defense. South Africa also established the South African Artificial Intelligence Research Institute in 2022 to fund the application of artificial intelligence in the fields of mining, government data cloud systems, automotive industry infrastructure, digital agriculture, etc.

In addition, countries such as Congo (Brazzaville), Mauritius, and Nigeria have also formulated a series of artificial intelligence industry development strategies and support measures in recent years, focusing on professional talent training, scientific and technological innovation, and regional cooperation.

The cooperation between China and African countries in the field of artificial intelligence is constantly strengthening. In March this year, the first African Artificial Intelligence Media Summit was held in Cameroon. At the summit, the CEO of the African Broadcasting Union, Jaca, said that the ever-changing artificial intelligence technology is profoundly affecting the media industry, and African media hope to gain inspiration and application experience from China's rapidly developing artificial intelligence technology practices. In May this year, the Egyptian government data and cloud computing center was officially launched. The center was jointly built by China Energy Construction and Huawei. It is the first artificial intelligence center in North Africa to analyze and process big data. Egyptian media commented that the project has set a benchmark for the development of artificial intelligence in North Africa, which will promote the formation and improvement of related industrial chains and drive regional economic growth.

(People's Daily reporter Huang Peizhao)

People's Daily (17th edition, July 18, 2024)