On February 1, 2025, De Rebus, the Law Society of South Africa’s regular magazine, published an article by Haroon Aziz detailing progress toward an AI policy for South Africa and urging stronger Global South engagement in AI governance. The article highlights the ‘South Africa National Artificial Intelligence Policy Framework,’ released in August 2024 by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, as the nation’s first step toward a comprehensive AI policy. This framework prioritizes ethical guidelines, privacy and data protection, safety and security, transparency and explainability, and fairness while mitigating bias. It aims to position South Africa as an AI leader in Africa and a notable global player by aligning with international governance standards, fostering innovation, and addressing historical inequities through broad access to AI benefits.
Aziz emphasizes that South Africa must deepen its efforts beyond this initial framework, calling for a robust dialogue on future AI regulation that unites lawyers and technologists, particularly semi-conductor engineers, to address the technology’s systemic risks and unpredictability. He ties this to a broader imperative for the Global South, where nations face digital neocolonialism and exclusion from an AI landscape dominated by the U.S. and China, which control vast resources and research. The author argues that South Africa should lead Africa in advocating for systemic risk-based governance—highlighted by events like the $5.4 billion CrowdStrike failure in July 2024—and enhance its digital sovereignty. This call aligns with UN resolutions in 2024 promoting inclusive AI capacity-building, urging concerted efforts from the Global South to shape a decolonized, equitable AI future through trans-disciplinary collaboration and public consultation.