The Head of State made the call at the opening ceremony of Transform Africa Summit 2023 held in Zimbabwe from 26th to 28th April 2023.
At the summit, Kagame was also joined by several Heads of State including host President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi, King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini, and Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, among other dignitaries.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence.
Many countries around the world have already started to embrace AI technology.
The report released by leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm, Goldman indicated that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could disrupt the global labour market and replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs.
It further indicates that the technology can lead to the creation of new jobs as it has the potential to enhance productivity and services by 7%.
Speaking to participants of the 6th Transform Africa Summit (TAS2023) in Victoria Falls, Kagame said that it is still unclear how the AI will affect existing jobs and what ‘safety concerns there will be’.
He stressed the need for Africa to assess benefits it can get from the technology and move fast with it.
“But it is already possible to see that Africa actually has the most to gain because of how these applications can narrow productivity gaps between African firms and our competitors on the other continents. We should therefore move quickly to embrace Artificial Intelligence and make it work for us,” he stated.
The president also said that transforming Africa means digitizing the continent’s economies.
“Already many of the new quality jobs being created in Africa are powered by technology and connectivity. That applies even to traditional sectors like Agriculture, mining and retail,” he noted.
Kagame stressed the need to address existing barriers to make technology the key driver for economic growth and development on the African continent.
He said that everyone has to be connected to affordable broadband and also be able to have a smart device.
As Kagame said, Mobile broadband penetration has been spreading rapidly, but more than 60 percent of Africans who have access don’t use it.
“We need to also keep reducing costs,” Kagame urged participants.
Equally troubling, he noted, is that a big piece of the puzzle is digital skill and literacy.
“One reason many Africans are not taking full advantage of the internet is that they are not yet comfortable with the interface or sometimes the language barrier factor.”
According to Kagame other bottlenecks include digital identity and cyber security as well as continental integration such as the African Continental Free Trade Area or the One Africa network.
“We need to make digital identities of individuals and businesses portable across borders while using technology to reduce barriers to trade. All of this is within our power to achieve. We just need to move faster with a sense of urgency,” he said.
On Wednesday afternoon, Kagame chaired the Smart Africa Board Meeting attended by Heads of State and their representatives from the Alliance’s 36 member countries, international organisations and global private sector players to discuss Africa’s digital agenda.
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