Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve, Victoria Falls Reporter
THE Government has called on the nation to actively participate in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution, not just as consumers but as producers of cutting-edge AI technologies.
This was said by the Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, Tatenda Mavetera, in an interview with Zimpapers on the sidelines of the SADC PF 57th Plenary Assembly Session currently underway in Victoria Falls.
The session is being held under the theme: “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Effective and Efficient Parliamentary Processes in the SADC Region: Experiences, Challenges and Opportunities.”
Minister Mavetera highlighted some of the significant strides the country has made in adopting and regulating AI, while urging collaboration and investment in local talent and infrastructure.
“We are happy as the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services to be invited to this very important conversation on AI. It is upon us, and we utilise it every single day. But what is important is for us to come up with the requisite regulation and policies which speak to what we need to do as a country.”
“What we have done so far is, firstly, we have managed to come up with an AI framework, which is a guiding document on how we are going to develop our strategy,” she said.
Minister Mavetera said they have further come up with an AI readiness assessment document, working together with the ITU and UNESCO.
She said there is a great need for the nation to collaborate with partners and stakeholders in developing an inclusive AI policy that suits the country’s context as a model.
“We realise that it is very important as well to look at our own ethics, cultural norms, and how we can utilise artificial intelligence within this context. We also need to be not only consumers but also producers of AI applications or anything around it. It is important for us as a country to work towards this and develop our own young people, develop talent,” she said.
She said there are certain pillars which the Government is investing in, including digital infrastructure, financing models, and skills development.
“As a country, we need to work on our national data centres, even working towards having our HPC (High-Performance Computing) and the requisite computing capacity to support AI operations. We also need to work on the financing model.”
“It is important for us to work towards this. Furthermore, we should be able to upskill, reskill, and scale up our workforce in the private and public sectors because if we do not adopt AI, we will be left behind as a country,” she said.
She compared the AI revolution to the advent of electricity, calling it a transformative shift.
“We believe that we are in an AI revolution, and as Zimbabwe, we say Zimbabwe is open for business. In the same way, we are going to say Zimbabwe is open for AI,” she said.
