Africa’s AI sector becomes new battleground in US-China race for the continent

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fast becoming the latest frontier in the competition between the United States and China in Africa, as African countries are set to gain from both AI superpowers’ keen interest in collaboration to advance AI innovation on the continent.

The US was the leading source of top computer programs known as AI models in 2023, with 61 compared to China’s 15, according to the recently released AI Index Report from Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. However, it also found that China led globally in terms of AI patents with 61.1%, while the US accounted for only 20%. And as a recent article in Voice of America pointed out, the future of AI in Africa will be shaped by the competition between the US and China. “To advance in AI research and innovation, African countries will need significant investments in computing infrastructure,” said Chinasa T. Okolo, a fellow at The Brookings Institution. “The US and China could potentially be good partners to help with such initiatives.”

In the coming years, researchers predict AI companies will run out of data in English and Western languages, with the exception of Africa where much more data is still needed, Okolo said. “Thus, by investing in Africa, companies from AI superpowers like the US and China stand to gain valuable data that they could use to build services and systems to be sold back to African countries,” she added. US companies have already invested in AI in Africa, such as when Google opened its first AI lab in Ghana, while IBM has research facilities in Kenya and South Africa. China also has taken an interest in AI on the continent, most notably with Chinese companies investing in Africa’s internet infrastructure and connectivity through President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).