The use of digital technologies can greatly improve the effectiveness of government across national, provincial, and municipal spheres. As a result, there may be many digital transformation strategies aimed at improving the lives of South Africans. While the Lab is actively involved in the implementation of the national Digital Transformation Roadmap, recently, Dr Manicom, a researcher at the Lab, also participated in a consultation run by the Western Cape government to get input from academia on the Western Cape’s Digital Transformation Plan 2.0.

While the first provincial digital transformation plan achieved the goal of providing internet access at over 90% of provincial facilities such as schools and hospitals, the new plan focuses on using digital technologies to create a more efficient and capable provincial government and digitalising access to government services. Challenges that the provincial government faces include the cost of digital technologies and licenses, the challenges in implementing digital solutions when restricted to working within provincial mandates and translating a more capable digital government with digitalised services into tangible socioeconomic outcomes. Academics were asked to brainstorm how the successful digital transformation of the provincial government might lead to improved safety in Cape Town.

From the AI perspective, it is worth noting that the Western Cape plans to incorporate AI into its safety and security practices, including facial recognition and AI to help optimise police resource allocation, both of which raise questions about the policies that could serve as guardrails against the potentially harmful consequences of using AI in this way. Consultations with academia to inform policies that ensure the ethical use of AI technology can help to avoid breaches of privacy or the perpetuation of systemic issues such as bias, while digital technology is used to improve the socioeconomic outcomes of citizens of the Western Cape.