Africa-Press – Cape verde. THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will launch the 2025 Global Human Development Report in Zimbabwe next Saturday.
The report is titled A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI.
The launch comes at a pivotal moment as the world — Zimbabwe included — embraces new technologies, with artificial intelligence (AI) at the forefront.
“Artificial intelligence (AI) has broken into a dizzying gallop. Each day seems to herald some new AI-powered algorithmic wonder. As a general-purpose technology, AI has been dubbed ‘the new electricity.’ Regardless of whether the utopian, techno-solutionist visions of AI’s most ardent advocates come to fruition or fizzle out like snake oil (or worse), the world is pulsing with a powerful new technology — a new kind of dynamism or vitality that differs from past technologies,” read part of the report’s overview.
“Yet, the AI zeitgeist is awfully blinkered. Headlines fixate on arms races; policy-making focuses on risks. These are real concerns — but they are not, and should not be, the whole story. We need to move beyond races and risks to consider possibilities for people — possibilities shaped by people’s choices.
“The choices that people have, and can realise, within ever-expanding freedoms, are essential to human development —whose goal is for people to live lives they value and have reason to value.
“A world with AI offers a wealth of choices, the exercise of which is both a matter of human development and a means to advance it.”
UNDP asserts that the future is always up for grabs — even more so now. Trying to predict what will happen is counterproductive; it privileges technology in a make-believe vacuum, ignoring the frictional realities and messier promises of human agency and choice.
From a human development perspective, the more relevant question is: What choices can we make to ensure AI works for people?
People are already interacting with AI in diverse ways across different stages of life — exploring both its benefits and its risks — underscoring how context and choice can make all the difference.
According to UNDP, human agency is compromised when people buy into AI hype uncritically, which can worsen exclusion and undermine sustainability.
Crucially, who produces AI — and for what purpose — matters to everyone.
AI use is already growing. However, the Thomson Reuters Foundation notes that the extent of AI adoption in Zimbabwe is unclear and regulatory gaps remain. Government officials have acknowledged AI’s potential and have called on experts to support regulatory development.
In August 2024, while addressing the Zimbabwe National Defence University, President Emmerson Mnangagwa urged the institution to increase research on emerging technologies such as AI and drones for peace and security.
A national AI policy framework has reportedly been drafted, though it has not yet been publicly shared or implemented.
Therefore, assessing the state of AI regulation in Zimbabwe requires reviewing various laws and policies. This also calls for improvements in digital literacy, investment and funding.
AI has been identified — along with other emerging technologies — as a priority area for support.
Notably, policy documents affirm Zimbabwe’s goal of becoming a digital economy by 2030. The principles underpinning this vision include democracy, equality, inclusiveness, innovation and sustainability.
According to the Smart Zimbabwe 2030 Master Plan, Zimbabwe aims to establish effective ICT regulation — through rules, practices and standards — by 2030.
However, the plan does not explicitly mention AI. It does, however, outline three phases of goals and priorities for building a digital government, society and economy.
Unfortunately, the public version of the plan lacks a complete project implementation strategy and does not include a time-line.
If Zimbabwe is to keep pace with global developments, it must act swiftly — and the time to act is now.
Gone are the days of lethargy in our approach. The world is moving forward rapidly; Zimbabwe must not be left behind.
For More News And Analysis About Cape verde Follow Africa-Press
