GITEX Africa: Experts Explore AI Transformation Power

Fire side chats, panel discussions, and demonstration sessions at GITEX Africa 2026, yesterday April 8, focussed on Artificial Intelligence AI governance frameworks, its development and deployment, and how it can revolutionise the delivery of public and private sector services. Many of the exchanges in the course of the day, including live demonstrations, discussed AI from almost every possible angle, with the goal of sharpening concerted efforts being undertaken by African countries to integrate the new technology into different aspects of life. Across the sessions, there was convergence by discussants that the question today is no longer about whether countries on the continent should embrace AI, but rather how they should do so. Some speakers opined that because of its increasing inevitability, AI development and deployment should be done in ways that reflect not only responsibility and ethics, but also the realities and values of the people that use it. This value aspect, some of them argued, directly relates to AI sovereignty, which also featured prominently during the discussions. Philippe Beaudoin, an AI researcher from Canada, emphasised this when he shared his views in a fireside chat on vertical AI use and ethics, and its responsible deployment by African countries. In the last couple of years, many African counties including Cameroon have been undertaking action and the level of government and the private sector to come up to speed with the evolving changes AI has triggered. For Cameroon, specifically, efforts are currently being made to harmonize thoughts towa...