DAR ES SALAAM: FOR decades, Africa has often been viewed as a continent that adopts technologies created elsewhere. However, as the world enters a new era defined by artificial intelligence (AI), Tanzania’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Mbelwa Kairuki, believes Africa must take a different path. He has challenged the continent to move … The post Africa must shape AI future beyond consumption, says Ambassador Kairuki appeared first on Daily News .
DAR ES SALAAM: FOR decades, Africa has often been viewed as a continent that adopts technologies created elsewhere. However, as the world enters a new era defined by artificial intelligence (AI), Tanzania’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Mbelwa Kairuki, believes Africa must take a different path.
He has challenged the continent to move beyond being merely a consumer of artificial intelligence and instead become an active global force in creating, shaping and governing the technology. According to Ambassador Kairuki, Africa’s future competitiveness will depend not only on access to AI tools but on its ability to invest in talent, innovation, research and ethical leadership.
Delivering the keynote address at Hack the Law 2026, hosted by the King’s Entrepreneurship Lab at the University of Cambridge, Ambassador Kairuki told more than 200 participants representing over 60 institutions from 24 countries that the AI revolution represents far more than a technological development. It is a leadership challenge that will determine how societies manage a future where machines increasingly influence human decisions.
“Our generation is the first in history capable of creating machines that can reason, learn and increasingly influence human decisions,” Ambassador Kairuki said.
He explained that future generations would not remember this century only because artificial intelligence was invented, but because humanity was forced to confront a deeper question: whether human wisdom would remain capable of governing intelligence in an age when intelligence was no longer exclusively human.
“This is not primarily a technological question. It is a leadership question,” he added.
The Ambassador urged African governments, universities and businesses to reject the belief that innovation belongs only to a small group of advanced economies. He argued that Africa has the capacity to produce ideas and solutions capable of competing globally if it creates the right environment for creativity and investment.
“The next great idea can emerge from Dar es Salaam as readily as from Silicon Valley, Nairobi, London or Cambridge,” he said.
“History has never rewarded those who waited for the future. It has always rewarded those who helped create it.”
Ambassador Kairuki emphasised that Africa’s ambition should extend beyond achieving digital inclusion. The continent, he said, must aim for digital leadership by strengthening scientific research, expanding digital infrastructure, supporting universities, encouraging entrepreneurship and developing human talent.
“Our objective should be digital leadership,” he said.
He described talent as the most valuable strategic resource of the modern era, arguing that countries capable of developing skilled people will have greater influence in shaping the global future.
“The most valuable strategic resource of the 21st century is no longer land, oil or even capital. It is talent. Countries that cultivate talent will shape the future, while those that neglect it will consume the future created by others.”
Drawing lessons from Tanzania’s own experience, Ambassador Kairuki said the country views artificial intelligence not as an end in itself but as a practical tool for national transformation. He highlighted emerging applications of AI in public services, particularly within the justice sector, where technology is being used to support faster and more efficient legal processes.
He pointed to advanced transcription, translation and electronic case management systems as examples of how artificial intelligence can improve judicial operations by reducing administrative burdens and allowing judicial officers to dedicate more time to legal reasoning and decision-making.
“Artificial intelligence should not replace judges. It should enable judges to become even better judges. Technology should amplify human judgment, not substitute it,” he said.
Ambassador Kairuki also highlighted Tanzania’s initiative to develop a Kiswahili Large Language Model (LLM), describing it as a significant step towards ensuring African languages have a meaningful place in the digital age. He explained that the project represents more than technological advancement; it reflects confidence in Africa’s identity, culture and ability to contribute to global innovation.
“It is a statement of national confidence,” he said.
“It recognises that African languages deserve a place in the digital future. Language is not merely a means of communication, it carries identity, culture and civilisation.”
The Ambassador warned that excluding African languages from artificial intelligence systems could leave the continent disadvantaged in the emerging digital economy. He argued that technology should not only serve languages and cultures that already dominate global systems, but should also embrace the diversity of human civilisation.
“When we invest in Kiswahili artificial intelligence, we are not simply writing code. We are preserving culture, expanding opportunity and upholding that every civilisation has the right not only to use technology, but to shape it.”
Addressing legal professionals and students, Ambassador Kairuki rejected predictions that artificial intelligence would replace lawyers. Instead, he encouraged the legal sector to adapt by combining traditional legal expertise with knowledge of emerging fields such as algorithms, cybersecurity, digital governance and electronic evidence.
He said universities have a crucial responsibility to prepare graduates who are not only technically competent but also guided by strong ethical values and capable of working across different disciplines.
“The future belongs to those who can bring technology, law, ethics and public policy together in pursuit of the common good,” he noted.
However, Ambassador Kairuki cautioned that technological progress must always be matched by effective governance. He stressed that innovation should never move faster than society’s ability to regulate, monitor and ensure accountability. Artificial intelligence systems, he said, must remain transparent, inclusive and guided by human responsibility.
“Artificial intelligence can process information and recommend decisions, but it cannot accept responsibility. That responsibility will always remain ours.”
The diplomat further argued that artificial intelligence has become a strategic national issue that extends beyond traditional technology institutions. Today, he noted, finance ministers, defence leaders, chief justices and healthcare authorities are increasingly involved in shaping AI policies because of the technology’s growing influence on economic growth, national security, justice systems and public services.
He challenged Africa to recognise the historic opportunity before it and take a leading role in determining how artificial intelligence develops globally.
“Africa must not merely participate in the AI revolution. It must help lead it,” he declared.
“The continent is home to the world’s youngest population, extraordinary entrepreneurial energy and unmatched linguistic and cultural diversity. These are not constraints—they are strategic assets.”
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Ambassador Kairuki concluded by urging students, innovators and future leaders to ensure that technology remains a tool for improving human life rather than replacing human values. He emphasised that the true measure of artificial intelligence success would not be determined only by the sophistication of machines, but by the strength of institutions, fairness of justice systems, resilience of democracies and opportunities created for future generations.
“Never allow technology to diminish humanity. Never allow efficiency to replace justice. Never allow innovation to outrun wisdom,” he said.
He added that the responsibility of the current generation is to ensure that technological progress advances alongside human dignity and social responsibility.
“Our generation has been entrusted with shaping the future. Let it be remembered as the generation that advanced technology without compromising human dignity.”
Through this message, Ambassador Kairuki presented artificial intelligence not merely as a technological race, but as a test of leadership, vision and responsibility. For Africa, he argued, the future will not be determined by whether the continent can access artificial intelligence, but whether it can contribute meaningfully to creating and governing the systems that will define the next era of global development.
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