Kenya signs AI deal with Claude to boost public-sector skills

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Kenya has signed a Joint Declaration with US artificial intelligence company Anthropic to deepen cooperation on AI skills development, research, safety and public-sector applications.

The declaration was signed in New York on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei signed for Kenya, while Anthropic’s Head of Beneficial Deployments Elizabeth Kelly signed for the company.

The agreement provides a framework for developing AI applications in priority sectors including education and health, while supporting research, capacity building, AI safety and evaluation.

It also provides for collaboration with Kenyan institutions to test and scale AI initiatives in line with Kenyan law.

According to Kenya’s Special Envoy on Technology, Ambassador Philip Thigo, the partnership had been shaped by discussions with Anthropic on practical applications of AI in the country.

“Kenya has an opportunity to help shape a different model for working with frontier AI companies, one built on co-creation, trust, safety by design, local capability and a shared commitment to improving the human condition,” Thigo said after talks with Anthropic leadership in July.

He said the discussions had explored collaboration in health, education, public-sector skills and research.

“We explored practical areas for collaboration in health, education and learner pathways, public sector skilling, executive AI fluency and foresight, and research grounded in African priorities and real-world use cases,” he said.

According to Thigo, discussions with Anthropic began in June, revolving around AI applications for Kenya’s linguistic diversity, pandemic preparedness, food systems and learner outcomes.

The next phase of the partnership, he says, will involve developing specific pilots, institutional partnerships, research initiatives and capacity-building programmes with relevant government agencies.