Member of Parliament for Tamale South Haruna Iddrisu, has urged parliament to establish legal regulatory guidelines to ensure the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) to align with human rights.

According to Haruna Iddrisu, there is the need for AI to become a priority in the country's future national development plan to prepare for an AI-driven world.

"Ghana as at today has no strategy, no legislation on AI, no ethical guidelines on AI," said Iddrisu.

“As the development and use of AI expands across different domains, there is the need to have legal regulatory guidance to ensure that AI is used in a manner that aligns with human rights,” Haruna Iddrisu said on the floor of parliament on June 7.

Haruna Iddrisu stressed that Ghana should consider establishing an AI council led by the Minister responsible for ICT or the Vice President of the Republic with representatives from the Ministry of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Higher Education. The council would be mandated to coordinate and come out with a unified strategy reflecting the government’s priorities and other stakeholders.

"As the country embarks on digital innovation and attempts to mainstream ICT in all aspects of our public national life leveraging AI for economic growth, development, and digital transformation must be an urgent consideration of our country if we are to secure tomorrow's competitive future which would be driven largely by technology," Iddrisu added.

He said Ghana needs a legal and regulatory framework for AI governance and initiate measures to guide the development and use of AI through the launch of AI strategies and policies and the enactment of legislation while he called for the establishment of centres of excellence on AI through scientific research.

"Human rights standards, data protection laws, and ethical principles are all necessary to guide, regulate, and manage the use of AI. We need to ensure strict adherence to responsible AI principles," he said.

The MP's call for regulatory guidelines comes at a time when AI is increasingly being integrated into various sectors across the country.

NYA/WA