 Policymakers gathering at this week’s Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund face the challenge of responding to short-term shocks caused by the Iran war while making progress on long-term goals. For many, the latter means honing their AI strategy. Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, has warned that artificial intelligence could affect around 40% of jobs globally over the next few years, “like a tsunami hitting the labor market.” South Africa’s government showed its readiness to retool its economy with the publication on Friday of a draft policy document featuring sweeping plans to regulate and accelerate AI adoption. The proposal outlines increased investment in supercomputing infrastructure to support AI research and development. It highlights the need to invest in local infrastructure to protect data sovereignty, while stressing the importance of reducing the country’s “current hardware dependence on the US and China” amid their ongoing geopolitical rivalry. And it details planned tax breaks, grants, and subsidies to encourage private-sector tech collaboration, along with the creation of an AI ethics board and a regulatory body. South Africa is clearly making a bid to lead the continent in AI innovation, but it’s not alone: Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda have in recent years launched strategies aimed at attracting investment for digital infrastructure, while developing regulatory frameworks that try to keep pace with technology that is evolving at breakneck speed. The stakes are high: If AI tools take well-paid, skilled jobs from the continent’s young population, inequalities would be entrenched, deepening the global digital divide. The Middle East conflict will be front and center in discussions this week: The World Bank has already cut its 2026 estimate for growth in sub-Saharan Africa and warned that inflation will accelerate on a “combined energy and food shock for African countries.” But African policymakers will need to find ways to address volatility caused by the war without ignoring the tsunami on the horizon. | 
