Advancement in Artificial Intelligence calls for clear regulations

He suggests that Zambia should consider developing and strengthening laws and regulations specifically addressing emerging challenges associated with AI, including the misuse of personal information, cybercrime and automated decision-making.

However, Mwila noted that the rapid pace at which AI is developing means that governance frameworks would need to be continuously reviewed. “Protecting personal information was particularly important as AI systems increasingly interacted with databases containing sensitive records, including medical information,” said Mwila.

Mwila warned that when such information was inadequately protected, it could potentially be used to profile individuals, creating risks of discrimination in areas such as immigration and access to services.

He mentioned that AI governance should therefore extend beyond information shared on social media to include personal data collected by public institutions, businesses and healthcare providers.

“It is not only the data about what we do on social media, but it is the data about everything, where the medical records are captured about the patient’s illness and everything, and then it is stored somewhere,” Mwila said.

He added the quality of data fed into AI systems was also important because machine-learning systems relied heavily on data to produce their outputs. Mwila said poorly managed or inaccurate data could contribute to biased outcomes when AI was used to make or support decisions affecting people.

He also raised concerns about the ability of advanced AI systems to generate complex computer code, saying identifying errors or vulnerabilities in such systems could sometimes require significant human effort.

Article by Karen Ngulube