By Wallace Mawire
Harare -THE Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe ( POTRAZ) has launched an ICT Research Journal, a peer review publication to facilitate exchange of ideas and to contribute to developing ICT policies, regulations and innovations that enhance the country’s digital landscape.
A symposium held by POTRAZ on 15 to 16 October,2024 in Harare marked the official launch of the journal and was attended by various mostly from the ICT sector.
The symposium gathered diverse professionals including the academia,ICT industry stakeholders and policymakers who engaged in thought provoking discussions on the latest ICT research and it’s implications for the future of the country. Some of the issues contained in the journal include presentation of findings on Artificial Intelligence (AI), including integrating and teaching Al in the country’s education curriculum and a call for global integration of AI models,a panel discussion on AI and findings on the modelling of e- commerce adoption drivers and digital consumer behaviour at Zimpost, just to mention a few.
Speaking at the journal launch,Beaulah Chirume, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services urged local stakeholders to initiate AI programming initiatives which are relevant for the local Zimbabwean context. Chirume said that AI was a global phenomenon which was just being adopted but stakeholders should be wary of the fact that AI is used and operated in different and diverse cultures,hence it’s applications was also relevant to the different contexts.
She said how AI applications are used for example in Europe and China,differs from how it should be applied to solve any challenges locally.
Some of the issues which were emphasized by stakeholders during the plenary discussions included enhancing data protection and cybersecurity laws, developing local AI tools, developing a local policy on AI and collaborating to combat cybersecurity and identity theft crimes which are affecting many citizens.
