Kenya is set to publish its first-ever National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy by May 2025 as the country seeks to regulate and harness AI for economic and social development. This comes as AI adoption is growing fast across various sectors and regulatory gaps are emerging.
Based on Global Best Practices
John Tanui, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of ICT and Digital Economy, said the AI strategy is based on international best practices. Speaking on the side of the 2025 Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Tanui said the strategy has gone through public participation and is almost ready.
“We are expecting to have the AI strategy within a month or two. The programme has gone through all the necessary preparation and public participation and the draft is ready. We expect to launch in a few weeks,” he said.
Addressing AI’s Growing Influence
AI enables machines to think like humans and solve complex problems. Its applications are across multiple sectors including health, manufacturing, security and public service. But Kenya has no legal framework to regulate AI deployment and data privacy, security and ethics are concerns.
Tanui said Kenya needs to adopt AI but do it responsibly. “These are tools we can use as a country and as a region and we don’t want to be left behind. We’ve seen how smaller companies can now adopt AI and deploy models fast with limited resources,” he added.
The Push for AI Governance
The draft Kenya National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025–2030 seeks to establish a framework for AI usage across various sectors including agriculture, security, education and public service delivery. The strategy aims to promote transparency and accountability in AI adoption and ensure AI development aligns with human rights and Kenyan values.
Globally AI regulations are inconsistent, with no universal definitions for different AI technologies. Kenya’s strategy will provide guidelines tailored to the country’s needs and emerging global standards.
Challenges and Opportunities
AI has massive potential but its adoption is a challenge. AI systems need huge data, fueling fears of data breaches and privacy. AI driven automation can also disrupt employment, IMF report says 40% of global jobs are exposed to AI related changes.Developing countries like Kenya may also not be able to fully harness AI’s benefits due to lack of infrastructure and skills. This will make the economic gap between countries that adopt AI and those that don’t wider.