By Darlington Gatsi ZIMBABWE is lagging behind in adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance productivity and efficiency in key economic sectors, thereby distancing itself from the global community, a Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) legislator has said. Despite the recent approval for technology freak Elon Musk’s Starlink to operate in Zimbabwe, concerns persist regarding the country’s capacity to incorporate the new technology into the various economic sectors. Many Zimbabweans, particularly in the rural areas, lack access to mobile phones and the internet, which poses significant challenges to AI adoption. Speaking during the Open Data Africa Summit at the Hub Unconference in Harare, Budiriro South legislator Darlington Chigumbu said Zimbabwe needs to craft a legal framework and policy to facilitate the smooth implementation of AI. “AI is a data hungry animal. Why can’t we combine as SADC (Southern African Development Community). We need data. We cannot talk of regulating AI as Zimbabwe. We do not have enough data. In as much as we might have data, it is in digital format. “Before we rush to talk about policies, we need to start to say that what we need now is an AI advisory committee that streamlines or that gives us a framework to say what we need AI for as a country,” said Chigumbu, who is a member of the Information Communication and Technology Parliamentary Portfolio Committee. He also added that there is a establish an AI advisory body to develop a national framework outlining the country’s AI needs. “Before we talk about policing we need AI strategy as a country. We cannot talk of AI when we do not have the skills. We cannot talk about AI without the infrastructure,” said the MP, who is a tech specialist. Recently, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Jenfan Muswere, revealed that government will soon present an AI policy document. AI is currently being utilized by developed countries in areas such as education, agriculture and mining where it is used to predict patterns and tackle climate change. Media researcher Mlondolozi Ndlovu bemoaned the lack of digital infrastructure in Africa, which he asserts will be a stumbling block. “Africa is lagging behind in terms of adoption of artificial intelligence and one of the reasons is because of the issue of digital infrastructure. We do not have to go to issues of mobile technology, the issues of data but look at the issues of power,” said Ndlovu.