62% of Tanzanians are against the use of Artificial Intelligence- Report

Dar es Salaam. A new global survey about the transformative Artificial Intelligent (AI) has found Tanzania stand out in East African countries with more than half (51 percent) of its people, saying the technology would mostly harm people over the next 20 years.

The review, which was commissioned by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK-based safety charity, indicated that 62 percent of Tanzania’s respondents oppose the technology, followed by Kenya and Uganda which tie together by having 57 percent respondents mistrusting AI usage.

“Despite the potentially transformative applications of AI, only one in five (this is equivalent to more than 25 percent of respondents) believes that the technology would mostly help people in the next 20 years,” the report reads in part.

The report is based on the 2021 Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll, powered by Gallup. 125,000 people across 121 countries were polled about their attitudes towards AI and data, among other risk and safety issues. A key barrier, according to the survey findings, is the level of exposure people in Eastern Africa have to AI technology through internet access and education.

On the other hand, the poll found out that only 29 percent of the Eastern Africans had used the internet in the past 30 days, which is 34 percentage points lower than the global average (63 percent).

The survey also found that people with primary education or less still represent the majority in Eastern Africa, at 55 percent.

Dr Sarah Cumbers, Director of Evidence, and Insight at the foundation, was quoted saying: “Artificial intelligence has huge potential to bring good to the world, and we’re already seeing some of its benefits within healthcare, disaster risk management and government services.”

Adding: “However, if we don’t engage the public with the development of these technologies and address their concerns, we may fail to introduce them in a way that is accepted by the majority.”