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AI regulation: Why Kenya should speed up legislation
The use of AI has increased and according to the latest statistics, the sector is worth around $391 billion. This figure is set to increase to about $ 1.8 trillion in the next five years.
An innocent employee unknowingly transferred a whole $25 million to fraudsters who through artificial intelligence (AI) generated a deep fake video of the chief financial officer.
In the deep fake video, the chief financial officer was giving instructions to the employee to transfer the money into an account. The employee thought he was following instructions from his superiors, only to later on discover that it was a fake video.
Last week, there was a major data breach in Kenya where personal and organisational data of Kenyan registered entities was compromised and sold on the dark web.
The above are examples of new risks that arise with increased use of technology. The use of AI has increased and according to the latest statistics, the sector is worth around $391 billion. This figure is set to increase to about $ 1.8 trillion in the next five years.
Many employees now use AI in task management and delivery whether the employer has consented to it or not. According to an AI survey, 72 percent of employees indicated that they trusted AI to deliver their tasks. Thirty eight percent admitted that they had in fact fed sensitive client data to AI without their supervisors’ knowledge or approval.
While AI has several benefits it also has several issues that ought to raise concern over its usage. One is the inaccuracies that AI tends to have. AI being a machine learning system depends a lot on source data.
If the source data is wrong then the output will also be wrong. The inaccuracies and mistakes in AI generated work can affect output and performance negatively.
While use of AI may lead to a quicker turnaround time, it may also lead to compromised quality. The legitimacy of output becomes questionable of AI was the sole technology used to create it.
I was listening to a podcast where the speaker said that his organisation had a strict NO-AI policy when it came to content creation. If they discovered that a consultant had used AI to generate content then they would automatically cancel the contract.
AI stifles the human gift of creativity and innovation. Increased use of AI generated content for songs, art and films stifles creativity that is an innate and almost an intuitive gift possessed by human beings. AI generated art lacks the personal touch that is rife with human generated art.
The positive and negative impact of AI will eventually be felt soon. There is need for regulation to manage some of the negative effects.
Regulation of AI in itself faces the same challenge that regulating technology faces. Technology changes very fast and regulation mostly cannot keep up with the changes.
Making a law is a long process that requires public participation. Sometimes changes in technology can overtake a change in law such that the law becomes obsolete.
Several countries have legislated on AI, while some have passed some regulatory initiatives to guide on the uptake of AI. Most countries in Europe and also the US have in place AI strategies.
In Africa Kenya alongside Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, South Africa, Rwanda and others are in the process of having AI strategies. This is commendable.
A quick look at the draft Kenyan National AI Strategy shows a well thought out plan.
Ms Mputhia is the founder of C Mputhia Advocates. Email: [email protected]
