Name in original language
The National AI Policy
Initiative overview
The vision of the strategy is to become a global center for AI research and innovation. The mission is to leverage AI to power economic growth, improve quality of life and position Rwanda as a global innovator for responsible and inclusive AI.
Six priority policy areas have been identified to accelerate the responsible development and deployment of AI across the nation. These priority areas are categorised as enablers, accelerators or safeguards.
Priority areas categorised as enablers are 1) 21st century skills and high AI literacy, and 2) reliable infrastructure and compute capacity, and 3) robust strategy. Priority areas categorised as accelerators are 1) trustworthy AI adoption in the public sector, and 2) widely beneficial AI adoption in the private sector. The priority area categorised as safeguard is practical ethical guidelines.
The National AI Policy includes the recommendation to establish a Responsible AI Office (RAI Office) during the first year of this policy, housed within MINICT. The RAI Office will have the coordinating responsibility of driving the AI policy Implementation Plan. The RAI Office is to be given the mandate to implement the National AI Policy by coordinating stakeholders across institutions and championing the responsible development and deployment of AI across the Rwandan public and private sectors.
Beyond domestic engagement, the RAI Office may participate in global AI governance efforts, e.g. by the OECD/Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), ITU, and UNESCO. Besides, the RAI Office will be tasked with the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the policy, the integration of the implementation plan in regional-level policies and actors, as well as with leading communications around the National AI Policy. Rwanda has a momentous opportunity to leverage advancements in AI to achieve national objectives outlined in Vision 2050. By launching the Responsible AI Office, coordinating key actors and driving action, MINICT accelerates AI adoption in Rwanda to achieve objectives linked to sustainable and inclusive development and capacity building in Rwanda.
Who has primary responsibility for developing the national AI strategy?
Name of responsible organisation (in English)
Who has primary responsibility to implementing the national strategy?
Name of responsible organisation for strategy implementation (in English)
Budget information available?
To what extent do you have mechanisms or other efforts to involve stakeholders in strategy design, implementation and monitoring?
Please describe these mechanisms or other efforts for stakeholder engagement
To what extent are there mechanisms that ensure inter-governmental coordination?
Is there a mechanism to monitor implementation?
Please describe the monitoring mechanism - in that order.
Has this initiative been evaluated?
Yes , by Public administration
Are evaluation results public?
No
Evaluation description
The RAI Office will be tasked with the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the policy and the integration of the implementation plan in regional-level policies and actors. The official document provides a list of outputs and indicators for each priority area.
