Freetown — Sierra Leone has launched a nationwide official campaign to educate citizens on artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfakes, with government leaders urging the public to take advantage of AI’s benefits but also be cautious of its risks. The campaign was officially launched this morning at a high-level stakeholder meeting held at the Brookfields Hotel with the theme “AI, Misinformation and Sierra Leone’s Information Future.” The event was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Information and Civic Education (MOICE), the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation (MOCTI) and the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI).
Minister Bah, in his keynote address, thanked MOCTI and DSTI for the coordination of the engagement and bringing together a wide cross-section of stakeholders. He began by quoting a grim warning from AI safety researcher Evan Hubinger of Anthropic, who has estimated the odds of artificial intelligence posing an existential risk to humanity in the next decade at above 10 per cent. The projection was offered by Minister Bah as a stark reminder of what is at stake and she posed a key question to the participants: what can people do together to eliminate or reduce that threat?
Although the tone was sobering, the Minister was optimistic about the potential of AI, noting that it is already in our society, and Sierra Leone must find a way to harness the advantages rather than resist it. He talked about the transformative potential of AI — including helping with medical advances — but said the country also must guard against abuse of the technology.
In search of that balance, Minister Bah identified three areas of responsibility: government, the media and ordinary citizens. On the government side, he said, officials are developing infrastructure and policy tools to help verify information and build public trust. One such tool he highlighted was info.gov.sl, which is in the making as a centralised verification portal for official government content. The platform would employ a proprietary QR code system that would enable the public to verify information firsthand, establishing a single source of truth for government communications.
The minister also said the government is working on a clear national AI policy to set rules and guardrails for usage of the technology. “Everyone is using ChatGPT,” he acknowledged, and knows that many people are already using consumer AI tools, but said regulation alone is not enough. “The real challenge is civic consciousness,” he said, stressing the need to teach citizens how to use AI ethically and responsibly. As part of that initiative, Minister Bah called for AI literacy to be included in Sierra Leone’s national education curriculum.
He summed up the state’s basic duty in the digital information environment, saying: “The government should give the infrastructure credibility of trust.”
Minister Bah took to the media, urging news organisations to take more responsibility for the accuracy of what they publish. He urged media houses to establish formal fact-checking systems and thoroughly vet sources before publishing or sharing content. He said bloggers and digital content creators are part of the larger media ecosystem, and they should be part of this accountability structure. The Minister said he has always encouraged the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) to recognise and accept bloggers as legitimate media practitioners who must operate under journalistic standards.
The message was straightforward and pragmatic for ordinary citizens: check, verify and double-check before sharing information. Minister Bah said addressing the catastrophic risks of AI was a shared civic responsibility that required broad national engagement. He also warned that people need to prepare for a new reality where anyone can be recorded at any time, and for how pervasive recording-capable technologies will be in day-to-day life.
In his closing remarks, Minister Bah reiterated the government’s commitment to harness the benefits of AI, while being sober about its dangers. The State is ready to take the technological and educational measures needed to lead Sierra Leone into its digital information future responsibly, he assured stakeholders. The launch is a collaborative effort by government, media, and civil society to build resilience against misinformation and shape a future in which AI contributes to national development rather than posing a threat.
