This archive report was first published on 9 June 2020.
June 9, 2020, marked a significant milestone in Kenya's journey towards embracing blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The government had launched the Kenyan blockchain and AI report, sparking hopes of a new era in innovation and economic growth. However, as we approach the one-year anniversary of this event, it's time to take stock of the progress made in the blockchain and AI space.
Blockchain technology has been at the forefront of the digital revolution, with its potential applications in various sectors. However, the focus has largely been on cryptocurrency, which represents only a small part of the blockchain's full scope. The Central Bank of Kenya has issued a warning to commercial banks, cautioning them against involvement in cryptocurrency-related activities.
Tokenized assets, on the other hand, offer a more acceptable and legal alternative. These are real-world assets converted into digital values and placed on a blockchain system for increased integrity and transparency. Examples include land, real estate, stocks, educational certificates, and donations. Despite its potential, tokenized assets have seen little progress, largely due to a lack of capacity building and willingness to tackle corruption.
Capacity building in blockchain technologies remains a significant challenge, with many enthusiasts focusing on trading global cryptocurrencies rather than creating local blockchain solutions. The question remains as to whether the few blockchain solutions that have been prototyped can be taken up by decision-makers who may be beneficiaries of the prevailing centralized, easy-to-compromise ICT system.
On the other hand, AI has seen a better uptake, particularly in the private sector. Enterprises are deploying AI algorithms to extract insights and predictions that benefit their businesses. Predictive analytics is becoming the norm, with more experienced enterprises moving to prescriptive analytics, which suggests what to do to guarantee a future event. Unfortunately, these AI developments seem to be happening only in the private sector.
Public sector adoption of AI remains a concern, despite its potential benefits in sectors such as education, health, security, transport, and agriculture. If we were to grade the performance of blockchain and AI initiatives since the launch of the report last year, we would reluctantly give a 50 per cent performance score. There is still much room for improvement, and it's hoped that the coming financial year will see better performance in blockchain and AI adoption, particularly from the public sector.
Mr. Walubengo is a lecturer at Multimedia University of Kenya, Faculty of Computing and IT.
