Ghana cotinues to assess its preparedness to adopt and regulate artificial intelligence (AI) as part of a national review conducted with UNESCO, as policymakers move to develop governance frameworks for the emerging technology.
The Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation held a stakeholder consultation on March 11 to validate the country’s Artificial Intelligence Readiness Assessment Methodology, bringing together academics and policy experts to evaluate Ghana’s ability to deploy AI responsibly.
The assessment, based on UNESCO’s AI Readiness Assessment Methodology, examines policy frameworks, institutional capacity, digital infrastructure, data governance systems and ethical safeguards required to manage AI technologies.
Emmanuel Ofori, director for innovation at the ministry noted that while AI presents significant opportunities across sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, finance, education and public service delivery, it also comes with risks that must be properly managed.
Officials say the exercise is designed to identify institutional and regulatory gaps as Ghana seeks to integrate AI into its digital transformation agenda. A representative of UNESCO told participants the engagement was intended to ensure Ghana’s AI strategy reflects national priorities and values while building an ethical and inclusive technology ecosystem.
Presenting preliminary findings, Jerry John Kponyo of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) said the review evaluates Ghana’s institutional, legal, social and economic preparedness to implement the global recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence adopted by UNESCO.
Kponyo said Ghana has made progress in digital adoption and information technology development but lacks binding AI-specific regulations and comprehensive data governance systems to guide the deployment of AI technologies.
The consultation forms part of a broader series of engagements involving government agencies, universities and industry stakeholders. Feedback from the meetings will feed into Ghana’s national AI readiness assessment report, which is expected to inform policy recommendations on AI governance and development.
