Kenya is calling for a more people-centred approach to artificial intelligence and digital technology, warning that innovation must not come at the expense of privacy, human rights and public trust.
The message was delivered by Information, Communications and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo on Monday, October 5, as he opened the Summit on People-Centred Technologies in Africa in Nairobi. The three-day summit, running from October 5 to 7, has brought together innovators, policymakers, youth leaders, researchers, digital-rights advocates, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to examine how technology can support peace, accountable governance and inclusive development.
Kabogo argued that Africa’s digital transformation should ultimately serve citizens rather than simply prioritise technological advancement.
“Every digital system we build or regulate must earn and keep the trust of the people it serves,” he said, according to The Star.
The remarks come as Kenya and other African countries accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence, digital public services and data-driven technologies while facing growing concerns over privacy, cybersecurity, misinformation and the misuse of personal information.
Putting citizens at the centre of AI
Artificial intelligence is increasingly moving from experimental technology into everyday services.
Governments and businesses are exploring AI for areas ranging from public administration and education to agriculture, healthcare and financial services. For Kenya, the opportunity is particularly significant because AI could help address some of the country’s longstanding development challenges.
Kabogo highlighted several potential applications, including using AI to translate public information into local languages, identify problems within public systems, monitor drought conditions and help direct government assistance to households that need it most.
But the Cabinet Secretary also stressed that the benefits of AI depend on how responsibly the technology is deployed.
Poorly governed systems could expose personal information, reinforce existing inequalities or make decisions that citizens do not understand or have little ability to challenge.
That makes the question of who controls data, how it is collected and how AI systems use it increasingly important.
Privacy becomes central to Kenya’s AI ambitions
Data is the foundation of many modern AI systems. The more information an algorithm can access, the more capable it can potentially become.
But that same information can expose individuals to serious risks when it is collected or processed without adequate safeguards.
Kenya has therefore been working to strengthen its data-governance framework as digital services expand.
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has increasingly focused on issues including children’s data, cross-border data flows, digital health, cybersecurity and the responsible use of emerging technologies. At its 2026 Data Privacy Conference, the office stressed that protecting personal information is essential to building public trust and enabling secure digital transformation.
The Data Protection Commissioner also highlighted the need for stronger accountability across government, business and other organisations handling personal information.
For Kenya, this is becoming particularly important as more public services move online.
A digital government can make services faster and more accessible, but it can also concentrate enormous amounts of sensitive information in interconnected databases. The stronger those systems become, the greater the consequences if data is misused, exposed or accessed by unauthorised parties.
Kenya developing a national data-governance framework
The government is developing a National Data Governance Policy intended to provide a framework for the ethical and secure management of data.
The policy is expected to support responsible data sharing while protecting citizens’ rights and improving public-service delivery. Kabogo said the government’s broader technology-policy process involves consultations with civil society, academia and industry.
The approach reflects an increasingly important principle in digital governance: data should be treated not merely as an economic resource, but also as something connected to individual rights.
That distinction matters as artificial intelligence becomes more deeply embedded in government systems.
An algorithm used to recommend government assistance, identify suspected fraud or assess applications could influence a person’s life without that person ever interacting directly with the technology.
Questions therefore arise about transparency, accuracy and accountability.
If an AI system makes a mistake, who is responsible?
If an algorithm produces a biased result, how can the affected person challenge it?
And if personal information is used to train or operate an AI system, does the individual know how that information is being used?
These are among the questions Kenya’s emerging regulatory framework will have to address.
Cybersecurity adds another layer of risk
The push for responsible AI is taking place against a backdrop of growing cyber threats.
Kenya’s National KE-CIRT/CC detected more than 3.36 billion cyber-threat events between January and March 2026, according to Communications Authority statistics. The authority also issued more than 20.6 million cybersecurity advisories during the period.
Earlier, the authority recorded more than 4.5 billion cyber-threat events during the October–December 2025 quarter, with system vulnerabilities accounting for the overwhelming majority of detected threats. The Communications Authority has also warned that AI and machine-learning technologies are increasingly being exploited by malicious actors.
The same technology that can help governments detect threats and improve services can potentially be exploited to create more sophisticated cyberattacks, scams, misinformation and other forms of digital abuse.
Consequently, AI governance cannot be separated entirely from cybersecurity.
Protecting children in an AI-powered internet
Children are another major concern.
Kabogo noted that Kenya’s young population means that children are increasingly exposed to digital technologies, often through mobile phones shared within households. He said protecting children’s privacy must remain a priority as AI and other digital technologies become more integrated into everyday life.
The Communications Authority has similarly made child online safety part of its broader responsible-AI agenda.
The regulator has developed guidelines on child online protection and safety and has conducted public-awareness campaigns on the safe use of AI and AI-generated content. It says more than 500,000 consumer advisory materials have been distributed nationwide.
The challenge is becoming more complicated as children encounter AI-generated images, videos, chatbots and other synthetic content online.
Young users may not always have the skills to distinguish between authentic and artificially generated information. This makes digital literacy an important part of AI governance alongside legislation and technical safeguards.
AI also offers opportunities for inclusion
Despite the risks, Kenya is not approaching AI solely as a threat.
The government’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025–2030 is intended to establish an environment where AI innovation can grow while addressing risks associated with privacy, security, bias and misuse.
The government has also emphasised the importance of developing AI systems that reflect Kenya’s own languages, data and social context.
That is important because many leading AI systems are developed primarily around data and languages from outside Africa. Kenya’s digital-policy agenda increasingly calls for locally relevant technologies that can respond to African needs rather than simply importing systems designed elsewhere.
Local-language AI, for example, could make government information more accessible to people who are less comfortable using English. Similar technology could potentially support education, healthcare, agriculture and financial services.
The opportunity is therefore not simply to consume AI, but to develop and govern technologies that reflect local realities.
From technology for people to technology with people
The Nairobi summit’s broader philosophy goes beyond the idea of technology being built for citizens.
Its organisers argue that communities should have a role in designing, governing and evaluating the technologies that affect them. The summit specifically focuses on local ownership, digital rights, data governance, inclusion and the risks of surveillance and exclusion.
That could represent an important shift in how African countries approach technological development.
For years, discussions about digital transformation have often focused on connectivity, infrastructure and access. Those remain important, but the rapid development of AI is forcing governments to ask a different set of questions.
Regulation must keep pace with innovation
One of the biggest challenges for policymakers is the speed at which technology develops.
Regulations can take years to develop, while AI systems can change dramatically within months.
The Communications Authority has consequently called for regulators to remain agile, evidence-driven and collaborative as AI, digital platforms and next-generation networks evolve. Regional ICT regulators meeting in Nairobi this week are also discussing AI, cybersecurity, data governance, consumer protection and digital inclusion.
This regional dimension is important because digital threats and technology companies rarely stop at national borders.
An AI-generated misinformation campaign can target people in several countries simultaneously. A cyberattack can originate in one country and affect infrastructure in another. Data can be stored and processed across multiple jurisdictions.
African governments therefore face increasing pressure to cooperate on common standards while still developing regulations suited to their individual circumstances.
The road ahead
Kenya’s push for people-centred AI represents an attempt to balance two competing priorities: embracing the enormous potential of artificial intelligence while preventing technology from undermining the rights and trust of the people it is supposed to serve.
The country has already established a foundation through its data-protection framework, National AI Strategy and cybersecurity institutions. But the rapid growth of AI means these systems will need to evolve continuously.
The challenge will be ensuring that regulation does not unnecessarily suppress innovation while providing strong enough safeguards to protect citizens.
For ordinary Kenyans, the debate is ultimately about much more than algorithms and policy documents. It concerns whether the technology they use every day can be trusted with their personal information, whether automated decisions can be challenged, whether children can use digital platforms safely and whether AI will improve public services without creating new forms of surveillance or exclusion.
As Kabogo put it, technology should strengthen the relationship between citizens and the state rather than create new risks through the misuse of personal data.
