#中美竞争##非洲##人工智能#
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尽管非洲国家正竞相制定自己的人工智能政策，但美国和中国正在进行塑造非洲人工智能发展、使用和治理的新竞赛。
最近几周，两国加大了与非洲国家在吸引人工智能投资和制定政策方面的合作力度。
在上周在内罗毕举行的美国商会商业峰会上，美国商务部长吉娜·雷蒙多和肯尼亚政府签署了一项合作伙伴协议，以使美国公司能够投资东非最大经济体肯尼亚的人工智能和数据中心。雷蒙多表示，该交易将有助于“促进数据流动，并增强数字技能”。肯尼亚、微软和阿联酋的G42投资集团也宣布在内罗毕附近建设一个由可再生能源供电的10亿瓦规模的数据中心。
美非商业论坛
今年4月初，在中国东南部港口城市厦门举行的中非互联网峰会上，中国宣布将与非洲国家在人工智能方面进行合作。该峰会重点聚焦中非在人工智能领域的合作，中国网络信息办公室拟推动制定中非人工智能和促进包括非洲教育机构在内的人工智能技术研究、开发和应用的政策。
包括埃及、卢旺达和毛里求斯在内的几个非洲国家迄今已经公布了国家人工智能战略，而包括尼日利亚、肯尼亚和南非在内的其他几个国家正处于制定类似战略的不同阶段。尽管呼声越来越高，但对人工智能的监管在非洲大陆仍未到位。
肯尼亚技术部信息和通信技术安全秘书伊曼纽尔·基梅告诉《旗语新闻社》：“法律正在追赶技术。”他将人工智能的崛起比作2008年在肯尼亚尚无监管的情况下率先推出并有效运营的移动银行M-Pesa。
中国援建的肯尼亚铁路
他表示，政府正在与包括私营部门在内的利益相关者进行谈判，旨在制定新的法律来指导肯尼亚的人工智能治理。在德国和欧盟的支持下，一个制定国家人工智能战略的项目于今年4月启动。
基梅说：“我们说过，在制定规则和指导方针之前，让我们先与利益相关者谈谈。"
非洲国家要想避免数据泄露、收入损失和人工智能系统的偏见等陷阱，就必须迅速引导大量资源投入人工智能的研究、开发、政策制定和应用。没有这些，外部大国可能会主导这项技术在非洲大陆的使用。
这对于跟上世界其他国家的步伐也很重要。欧盟在3月通过了其人工智能法案，被称为世界上第一个全面的人工智能法案。中国正在推动一项类似于欧盟的新的人工智能法律草案，美国总统乔·拜登在去年10月发布了一项关于人工智能安全的行政命令。
然而，利益相关者的参与是关键。因为一些专家担心，监管非洲大陆新兴的人工智能行业的尝试可能会扼杀创新。例如，正如《旗语新闻非洲分社》去年12月报道的那样，早期在肯尼亚监管人工智能的尝试遭到了肯尼亚科技行业领袖的强烈反对，他们警告说，拟议中的监管规定将提高进入该行业的门槛，并吓走创业人和投资者。
正确使用人工智能将使非洲大陆能够有效地利用其在卫生、教育和农业等领域的无数潜在机会。研究表明，如果非洲大陆到2030年时能够获得10%的世界市场份额，人工智能可能会为非洲经济增加1.5万亿美元。
非洲领导人将有机会在明年2月举行的非盟国家首脑峰会上通过非洲联盟的人工智能政策框架草案。该草案包括关于人工智能安全测试的监管沙合建议，建立国家人工智能委员会以监督负责任的有效技术应用和评估人工智能系统的认证机构。然而，他们仍然需要在各自的国家推动立法。
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.