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NAIROBI — Kenya’s government has raised concerns about risks associated with use of artificial intelligence (AI) as youth-led, anti-government protests continue across the nation. Protesters have deployed creative uses of AI and digital tools to take on the political establishment over the past few weeks as part of the nationwide demonstrations, which were triggered by the now-scrapped Finance Bill 2024 containing a raft of unpopular tax hikes.
Among widely shared AI tools created in support of the protests include the Corrupt Politicians GPT, a chatbot which reveals corruption cases involving Kenyan politicians. Another is the Finance Bill GPT, which helps break down the controversial bill and its potential impact on prices. The chatbot also shares lawmakers’ phone numbers for their constituents to raise their concerns.
Protesters also contributed to and shared databases of businesses owned by politicians, which have faced boycotts and attacks, and created another chatbot featuring their contributions to parliamentary debates.
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The mostly Gen Z and millennial protesters, who are now pushing for the president’s resignation, began organizing against the Finance Bill on TikTok and X before taking to the streets. They continue to use the social media apps’ features, including spaces and live-streams, to coordinate protests and mobilize.
The protesters have also used these platforms to crowdfund medical bill payments and funeral costs for injured and killed protesters. At least 39 people have been killed in the protests since mid-June, according to a government-funded human rights organization. An online fundraiser managed by activist and journalist Hanifa Farsafi, one of the protest’s key figures, had raised 29.8 million Kenyan shillings ($231,906) from over 34,000 people as of Wednesday evening.
Lesser-known apps have also seen increased usage in Kenya, such as Zello which protesters have been using to turn their phones into walkie talkies. It helps them quickly share information including police movements during demonstrations.
And with Kenya being home to 43 different ethnic communities, all with their own languages in addition to the official languages of English and Kiswahili, protesters also crowdsourced TikTok videos translating and breaking down the bill’s proposals into different local languages, helping reach more people especially in rural areas. Sign language interpreters also contributed. The videos were also widely shared on Whatsapp among other platforms.
Martin’s view
AI is a relatively new tool for both governments and opposing political actors on the continent. The young protesters in Kenya, are however especially well-equipped to deploy their skills against the government. The country has one of the highest populations of developers on the continent, and a large tech ecosystem. Social media also offers platforms for the youth to mobilize around issues and plan civic actions including protests.
The AI tools have in many cases helped Kenyans understand the potential impact of the Finance Bill, turning the legislative jargon into actionable information for many protesters. It represents just one way in which AI could shape political action in Africa. The techies’ show of solidarity has been present across professions — including young medics who independently organized free medical camps for protesters, and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) which has provided legal aid for protesters and challenged abductions and use of excessive force by police.
“Everyone is just doing what they can,” Emmanuel Musyoka, a protester in Nairobi, told Semafor Africa. “We’ve had boda boda (motorcycle taxi) riders delivering water and giving free rides; graphic designers making posters.”
The government’s concerns on AI comes even as it develops a national AI strategy, seen as a precursor to the introduction of a regulatory framework for AI in Kenya.
Room for Disagreement
In a communique to ambassadors in Nairobi this week on the protests and the government’s response, Kenya’s foreign affairs cabinet secretary Musalia Mudavadi on Tuesday, July 2 shared concerns on AI use and misinformation.
“The abuse of the internet space continues to fuel national and global instability as well as feed into the ever-opportunistic cybercrime,” he said. “Indeed, the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 admits that the biggest global short term risk stems from misinformation and disinformation “in large part driven by the potential of AI, in the hands of bad actors, to flood global information systems with false narratives.”
Notable
- Kenyan celebrities and social media influencers have been dropping the country’s biggest mobile phone company its alleged cooperation with the government to censor protests by slowing internet among other things.