AI diplomacy: five recommendations to developing countries

AI has extraordinary potential and developing countries must move forward quickly in this field to leverage their technological prowess, productivity, and competitiveness. Certainly, investing in R&D, developing capacities, and retaining AI talent is much easier said than done. Besides adopting a national AI strategy, if there is none, developing countries could put into practice a roadmap with clearly defined priorities and projects that bolster the economy. They can also build partnerships and reach out to other countries and organizations that are willing to cooperate in frontier technologies. A niche strategy might help to leapfrog in a few select sectors, as in the case of some small states that have become active players in the digital sphere. Interestingly enough, Kenya became last August the first African country to teach coding as a subject in schools. As stated in the UNCTAD 2021 Digital Economy report, developing countries risk becoming mere providers of data, while having to pay for digital intelligence produced with their data. Current international regulatory frameworks tend to be either too narrow in scope or too limited geographically, failing to enable cross-border data flows with an equitable sharing of economic gains. In a nutshell, developing countries need to find the optimal balance between promoting domestic economic development, protecting public policy interests, and integrating into the global digital ecosystem.