JOHANNESBURG, April 10 - South Africa unveiled a draft national policy on artificial intelligence on Friday, inviting public comment by June 10 on a package of proposals intended to both regulate and accelerate adoption of AI technologies.
Published by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, the draft sets out the government’s intent to position the country as a continental leader in AI research and innovation while confronting a range of ethical, social and economic issues tied to the technology. Officials describe the document as a milestone in the country’s digital transformation.
The policy blueprint details the establishment of new governing and oversight institutions. Among them are a National AI Commission to coordinate policy, an AI Ethics Board to set and uphold ethical standards, and an AI Regulatory Authority charged with monitoring compliance and providing mechanisms for redress and compensation in instances of AI-related harm.
To encourage collaboration with the private sector, the government proposes a set of incentives including tax breaks, grants and subsidies aimed particularly at supporting local startups and small businesses. The draft emphasizes incentives as a tool to spur domestic engagement with AI development.
A central pillar of the draft is investment in high-performance computing capacity. The document calls for development of strong and cost-effective supercomputing infrastructure to underpin AI research and development, and advocates strategic investments in broader digital infrastructure. That includes forming partnerships with international cloud providers and developing regional supercomputing hubs to support research efforts.
At the same time, the draft raises concerns about dependencies on external infrastructure. It warns that "reliance on foreign infrastructure could compromise the security of sensitive South African data," and urges plans to reduce the country’s "current hardware dependence on the U.S. and China" amid their ongoing geopolitical rivalry.
Public comment: The draft AI policy is open for public submissions until June 10.