GIZ Rwanda, in partnership with the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) and the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), is launching an open call for the Rwandan AI ecosystem: “AI Ethics Applied Programme and Consultation”, via the initiative FAIR Forward. Startups, SMEs, corporates, students, academics, and government institutions interested in how to develop AI solutions in an ethical way can apply to be part of this training programme.
Rwanda is leveraging the potential to power economic growth and improve the quality of life through AI adoption in key sectors such as healthcare, banking, and agriculture (as outlined in the draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy for the Republic of Rwanda). At the same time, the AI sector in Rwanda is still in its nascent stage. To increase awareness regarding the benefits and risks of AI technology in Rwanda, RURA is faced with the immense task of ensuring that regulatory instruments at its disposal are adequate and can foster the responsible, trustworthy, and beneficial adoption of AI technology in Rwanda.
Therefore, RURA has been developing the “Guidelines on the Ethical Development and Implementation of AI” through a consultative process to provide a set of principles fostering and promoting the ethical development and deployment of AI systems for the benefit of the people of the Republic of Rwanda. These upcoming guidelines aim to ensure AI developers and implementers build trustworthy AI systems. This implies trust in the technology itself, how it is built, and how it is deployed and used.
AI Ethics Applied Programme & Consultation
To develop the guidelines in close collaboration with the Rwandan AI actors from government, industry, civil society, and academia and to further raise awareness of the ethics of AI, RURA is collaborating with GIZ through the FAIR Forward initiative and The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) to implement an “AI Ethics Applied Programme and Consultation”.
Through the programme, the 15 participating organisations from across the Rwandan AI ecosystem have a first-hand opportunity to participate in a consultative process to develop and test the application of guidelines in their AI services.
The programme will take place from October 2022 to January 2023, and consists of the following activities:
- AI ethics training taking place at the Digital Transformation Center Rwanda on October 18-19. During the training, participants will learn the key concepts related to ethical AI, about AI related risks, principles and requirements for developing ethical AI, and how to put these into practice;
- Individual coaching on how to apply the ethical AI guidelines in developing and deploying ethical AI in their own AI system’s context;
- Peer-learning exchanges to learn from other participants’ experiences in applying the guidelines in their diverse AI use cases.
In addition, all participants will be provided with access to Saidot’s AI governance platform to conduct a self-assessment of their AI product in alignment with the ethical guidelines.
How to apply
Therefore, RURA, in collaboration with its partners, is calling upon individuals interested in AI ethics from the following institutions to participate in the programme:
- Startups or SMEs who have developed or are in the process of developing AI-based products;
- Large firms that utilize AI systems in their products (e.g., mobile network operators, banks);
- Government departments who use, or plan on using, AI systems in their service delivery;
- Educational institutions and students with a focus on artificial intelligence and its diverse applications.
All selected 15 participants are required to have an AI use case they are developing or planning to implement, which they can use as their pilot case in the process. Furthermore, participants will be selected from across industries ensuring diverse representation of industries and organisations.
Participants are expected to participate in the full 1,5 days training at the Digital Transformation Center Rwanda on October 18-19 and allocate additional 2-3 days to the subsequent guided application process during November 2022-January 2023.
Selected participants will be contacted via email by September 30.