While South Africa does not have a dedicated national AI strategy, the country is addressing AI within the framework of its broader Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) strategy. In 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa established the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which released a diagnostic report in 2020 outlining a vision for South Africa's development in the 4IR era.
The 4IR strategy emphasises a human-centric approach, focusing on resolving South Africa's historical challenges of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. Key aspects of the strategy include developing AI capabilities, strengthening technological and industrial capacities, and providing an appropriate ethical and legal framework to increase citizens' trust in AI.
In November 2022, the government launched the Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa, which aims to focus on research, development, and implementation of AI solutions to address South African and African challenges. The institute is also tasked with addressing legal and ethical issues related to AI development and use.
South Africa has played a significant role in shaping AI policies at the regional and international levels. The country led the development of Smart Africa's Artificial Intelligence Blueprint for Africa in 2021, which aims to guide African nations in developing policies and strategies for the digital revolution. The blueprint emphasises the need to integrate ethics into AI systems to minimize structural discrimination and bias.
The country has also been active in promoting AI discussions within the African Union. President Ramaphosa called for the creation of an AI Forum within the AU to address AI issues uniformly across the continent. The country has endorsed international AI principles, including the G20 AI Principles and the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI.
South Africa's data protection law, the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), came into full effect in July 2021. POPIA establishes strong protections for personal data, including restrictions on automated decision-making and profiling. The law also created the Information Regulator, an independent body responsible for enforcing data protection regulations.
POPIA requires prior authorisation from the Information Regulator for certain types of data processing, including the use of unique identifiers for purposes other than those originally intended. The law also mandates transparency in automated decision-making processes, requiring data controllers to provide individuals with information about the logic involved in such decisions.
The country has endorsed various international frameworks on AI ethics, including the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI. In September 2022, South Africa committed to regulating AI in line with these principles at a UNESCO-sponsored forum.
The government has also expressed its intention to develop a comprehensive legal and ethical governance framework for AI technologies. This framework aims to ensure compliance with regional and international human rights standards, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
South Africa maintains a relatively high score for political rights and civil liberties according to international assessments. The country is a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and has supported regional initiatives to ensure AI development respects human rights.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, with South Africa's support, has called on states to ensure that AI development and use are compatible with human rights standards. This includes principles of transparency, non-discrimination, and accountability in AI systems.
Despite progress in developing AI policies, South Africa faces several challenges. These include addressing the digital divide, ensuring representative data sets for AI development, and mitigating potential bias and discrimination in AI systems. Researchers have noted that a significant portion of the South African population lacks a digital footprint, which could lead to underrepresentation in AI training data.
There are also concerns about the use of AI for surveillance purposes and its potential impact on privacy rights. The government's plans for increased use of surveillance technologies, including facial recognition, have raised questions about balancing security needs with individual privacy.
This country report is our interpretation and summary of the "CAIDP Artificial Intelligence & Democratic Values Index 2023". The full report can be found here - https://www.caidp.org/reports/aidv-2023