The development of artificial intelligence is gaining speed, but safety measures are not always keeping pace.
According to analysis from Tech Policy Press, this imbalance is present in AI strategy reports from many African nations.
What's happening?
Infrastructure projects for AI are growing across Africa, including at least 226 data centers in 39 nations. However, publicly available AI strategy documents from 14 African governments show that little concern is being given to labor, energy, and environmental issues, Tech Policy Press reported.
As the outlet described, there is a trend of "deprioritising AI labor exploitation" in the reports. Kenya was the only one out of the 14 to comment on the lack of mobility that the people training AI models can face — typically at the hands of large companies based in the United States.
Plus, only six of the 14 strategies mentioned AI-related energy concerns, and only three noted overall environmental impact.
Dr. Vincent Obia, a researcher focused on AI regulation in Africa, conducted the analysis.
"African governments must address this oversight," he wrote in the findings. "[It sends a message] to AI developers … that concerns about energy, climate, and labor can be sacrificed on the altar of unchecked AI advancement."
Why are these AI strategies important?
While they are not set in stone, these strategic documents reveal how governments are thinking about AI and where problems may arise.
For example, a large amount of the AI training workforce lives in Africa. These "downstream workers" annotate and label data, but they often do so in unsafe conditions, and for too little pay, Obia explained.
Likewise, AI technology demands massive amounts of water, electricity, and mining. Data centers around the world may eat up as much energy as all of the Netherlands by 2027. Not to mention, African nations are already disproportionately impacted by global temperature rise and water scarcity, Tech Policy Press reported.
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Financial assistance for job training 💰 The absence of plans for improving these situations in the strategic reports clearly shows the priorities between governments and AI companies.
What's being done to make AI safer in Africa?
That all may sound bleak, but the technology can also do good in the world. It can help upgrade energy systems that don't pollute with planet-heating gas, and find new ways to lower those emissions from energy systems that do.
The good news is that for now, these strategy reports are just visions, not completed plans. With strong advocacy, the next editions can include better stances on the impact AI development has on workers and the planet.
Another positive step would be for African nations to work less with external stakeholders to develop these visions, despite the pressure to keep up with the global AI race.
"While there is some value in drawing from external expertise, it is vital that African policymakers are not overly swayed by it and instead focus on realities and actual concerns that relate to the African experience," Obia wrote.
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