South Africa’s revised artificial intelligence policy draft is expected to be ready by the end of the current financial year before being released for public comment, Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi says.
The draft is intended to set a national approach to innovation, ethical use and the management of risks linked to artificial intelligence.
Malatsi told SABC News that the department withdrew an earlier version after fictitious references were found in the document. The department is now consulting stakeholders before producing a revised draft.
“The plan is to ensure that by the end of this financial year we’ve got the revised AI policy draft, which we can then put out for public comment,” the minister said.
The previous timetable had envisaged publication for consultation in June. That process did not proceed after the problems with the source material were identified.
The new timetable means the next public version will first have to pass the department’s internal review and stakeholder-engagement process. Members of the public, businesses, researchers and civil-society organisations will be able to comment once the draft is formally released.
The policy work comes as South African companies and public institutions expand their use of generative AI, automated decision-making and data-driven services. The eventual framework is expected to address the benefits of the technology alongside concerns about privacy, bias, accountability and the reliability of machine-generated information.
No final policy has been adopted. The department’s immediate task is to produce a corrected draft for consultation by the end of the financial year.
