Morocco’s bet on targeted AI

The artificial intelligence revolution is often described as universal but its benefits have so far been concentrated in the countries shaping frontier models. The US, where staggering amounts of capital are flowing into the sector, has embraced technological sovereignty as an instrument of power. China regards AI development as a strategic and deeply embedded state project, with the explicit ambition of global leadership by 2030 — hence the creation of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization in Shanghai last month. For the rest of the world, AI offers the promise of progress but not a clear path toward achieving it.

Morocco, like many other countries, must decide whether to try to catch up with the global front-runners by investing massively in infrastructure and computing power — an increasingly difficult task — or to pursue a different approach. In the year since our inaugural National AI Conference, we have chosen an ownership strategy focused on organizing domestic data, training local talent and shaping use cases that meet our needs in education, healthcare, public administration, agriculture, defense, innovation and cultural industries.

This path, which is neither imported nor imposed, rests on a simple idea: technological power is measured not by domination or submission but by usefulness. A “powerful” AI is one that solves real problems for people in their own languages and contexts, while accounting for their own priorities and constraints. Through various national initiatives — the Maroc Digital 2030 strategy and the AI Made in Morocco road map — we have adopted a long-term horizon for this technological transformation to ensure that we maintain sovereignty over our data and guide AI toward uses that have a real-world impact on our people’s lives and livelihoods.

A ‘powerful’ AI is one that solves real problems for people in their own languages and contexts

Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni

While global competition has focused on the most advanced large language models, which require billions of parameters and colossal computing infrastructure, other countries should learn from Morocco’s bet on leaner, more targeted systems. That has informed our work with Mistral AI to build the first Moroccan large language model in Arabic, Darija and Amazigh. It has also led us to begin developing the Digital X.0 Framework Law and the Idarati X.0 platform, which aim to transform how citizens access public services. Both initiatives also seek to enhance personal data protection, cybersecurity and algorithmic accountability because citizens will adopt AI systems only if they trust the institutions overseeing them.

Meanwhile, Morocco is investing in infrastructure. By 2030, the country plans to have a green data center with 500 megawatts of cumulative capacity in Dakhla. It is already home to North Africa’s first hyperscale public cloud region and Africa’s most powerful supercomputer. But these facilities would be worthless without the necessary human capital, which is why the government has committed to training 100,000 professionals in digital professions annually by 2030, through engineering schools, doctoral programs and other initiatives coordinated by the Jazari Institute network.

With its proximity to Europe, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Arab world, Morocco is uniquely positioned to push back against the great powers’ efforts to build moats around their digital ecosystems. At this time of technological fragmentation, we are focused on building not only national capabilities but also regional coalitions.

Morocco is uniquely positioned to push back against the great powers’ efforts to build moats around their digital ecosystems

Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni

After all, AI has enormous potential to drive structural change in Africa, which has a population of roughly 1.5 billion, a huge share of digitally connected young people and immense needs in public services, education, health, administration, financial inclusion and food security. But models designed elsewhere cannot fully meet the continent’s requirements of accessibility, frugality and local relevance.

Ultimately, though, none of us can go it alone. Africa’s digital sovereignty depends on our capacity to form coalitions that benefit all. To that end, Morocco seeks to play a leading role in building regional partnerships that pool efforts, align priorities and share frameworks.

Moreover, we are using our credibility on both sides of the Mediterranean and the Sahara to forge collaborations on digital and AI governance with the EU and international bodies, including the UN Development Programme. In AI governance, we work with the Digital Cooperation Organization, in which Morocco has been elected an executive member for a second consecutive year, as well as the African Training and Research Center in Administration for Development, founded in Morocco in 1964.

In a technological environment that tends not to recognize cultural differences or account for linguistic diversity, Morocco has developed an AI strategy that embraces innovation without ceding its identity to foreign models. When properly managed, AI can become an instrument of both economic development and cultural affirmation. The countries that use it to amplify their attributes, rather than mimic others’, will maintain their relevance as the AI future takes shape.

• Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni is Morocco’s Minister Delegate to the Head of Government, in charge of Digital Transition and Administration Reform.

Copyright: Project Syndicate