EXTENDED REALITIES (XR) POLICIES IN THE AFRICAN CONTEXT: OVERVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Outline

1. Introduction
2. Background of XR in Africa
3. Analysis of XR Policies in Africa
4. Impact of XR Policies in Africa
5. Recommendation
6. Conclusion

Introduction

XR stands for “Extended Reality” which includes virtual and augmented reality technologies. Policies regarding XR in Africa vary by country, but in general, the adoption and use of XR technologies are growing on the continent.

This technology has continued to increase, permeating vital sectors of our economy such as education, health etc. Statista predicts that VR’s market revenue will grow in three years from less than $5 billion to more than $12 billion (Alsop, 2022). According to PwC’s estimation, XR technology is expected to contribute up to 500 billion dollars to the U.S. GDP and 1.5 trillion dollars to the global economy by 2030. Additionally, the firm predicts that by 2030, over 2 million jobs will be improved through the use of virtual and augmented reality technologies. (The Shorter Side of =, 2021).

Governments in some countries are exploring how XR can be used in fields such as education, healthcare, and tourism, while others are still developing regulations for this emerging technology. The need for standard rules and infrastructure for XR in Africa presents challenges and opportunities for businesses and investors.

This paper aims to examine some of the existing legislations on XR, their application, challenges and recommendations.

Overview of XR in Africa

In Africa, XR technologies are gaining popularity and becoming increasingly integrated into various industries, including entertainment, education, and commerce. Some of Africa’s most commonly used XR technologies include virtual and augmented reality, mixed reality, and 360-degree video.

However, despite XR’s potential benefits, there are challenges to its widespread adoption in Africa, such as a lack of infrastructure and digital skills, limited access to XR technologies and equipment, and a lack of XR content that is relevant to the African context. Nevertheless, several initiatives are underway to address these challenges and promote the development of XR in Africa, including partnerships between tech companies and local organisations, government-led initiatives, and academic research programs.

Current XR trends in Africa

1. Increased Adoption: XR technologies are becoming increasingly popular in Africa and are adopted across various industries, including education, entertainment, and healthcare.
2. Growing Startup Scene: There is a growing startup scene in the XR industry in Africa, with several entrepreneurs developing innovative XR solutions and products.
3. Focus on Social Impact: Many XR initiatives in Africa focus on using XR technologies to drive social impact, such as improving access to education, healthcare, and other essential services.
4. Partnership with Global Tech Companies: Partnerships are being formed between global tech companies and local organisations in Africa to promote XR development and adoption.
5. Investment Opportunities: There is growing interest from investors and venture capitalists in the XR industry in Africa as they recognise the potential for growth and impact.
6. Lack of Standardisation: Despite the growing interest in XR in Africa, there currently needs to be more standardisation in the industry, making it difficult for companies to collaborate and for consumers to access consistent, high-quality XR experiences.

Overall, the XR industry in Africa is rapidly growing and presents many opportunities for innovation and impact. Still, it also faces significant challenges that must be addressed to realise its full potential.

Key players and stakeholders in the XR industry in Africa

1. Government
2. XR focus groups, e.g. Africa XR Association
3. Research Institutions
4. Tertiary Institutions
5. Startups and XR companies

Overview of XR Policies in Africa

Like other emerging technologies, African countries are lagging when making policies to govern XR within their respective jurisdictions. However, even though no guidelines point to/ address XR, the broad definition and application of these provisions can include XR In the subsequent paragraphs, we will be taking a close look at these policies and how they govern XR

Evaluation of current XR policies in Africa

Not many African countries have specific policies and regulations regarding XR (Extended Reality) technology. However, some countries have started exploring the potential of XR and have taken steps to promote its development and use. Here are a few examples:

1. South Africa: The South African government has recognised the potential of XR and has started to invest in its development. The Film and Publications Board has proposed a new set of regulations for VR content, including age restrictions and content classification guidelines (DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES NO. 1717 4 February 2022, 2022). The aim is to ensure that VR’s content does not violate the country’s laws around hate speech, child pornography, and other prohibited materials.
2. Kenya: The Kenyan government has embraced XR as a tool for innovation and has established the Kenya Film Commission to promote the development of XR and other film-related industries. The Communications Authority of Kenya has proposed regulations for OTT (over-the-top) services, including VR content (Walubengo & Kariuki, n.d.). The rules aim to ensure that all OTT services, including VR content, are subject to the same regulations as traditional broadcast media, such as licensing and content restrictions. Upon taking a cursory look at the rule, it is discovered that most of the provisions contained therein focused on OTTs; no provisions apply specifically to XR Applying this regulation to XR stems from a general interpretation of its provisions.
3. Egypt: The Egyptian government has established a national plan for the development of XR technologies and has started to invest in the development of XR infrastructure and training programs (McNew, 2023).
4. Nigeria: In Nigeria, there are no specific regulations for VR or AR technology yet, but the country’s broadcasting and telecommunications regulatory bodies are monitoring the development of the technology and its impact on society. The Nigerian government has recognised the potential of XR and is exploring ways to integrate XR technologies into various sectors, such as education, healthcare, and tourism. The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in its efforts to promote the development of technology in the country, has established the National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR). This centre would facilitate research and development of emerging technologies. Its research and development focus areas include; Machine Learning, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, Intelligent Robotics, Extended Reality (XR)and Digital Manufacturing and Prototyping.

These are just a few examples, and the level of investment and support for XR varies across Africa. However, it’s clear that XR is starting to gain traction on the continent and that governments are exploring ways to harness its potential.

Comparison with XR policies in other regions

XR is an emerging phenomenon, and just like African countries, most governments across the globe are using a slow approach towards enforcing regulations and policies that are XR-focused. Some countries, however, have taken an extra step to embed XR-related provisions into their laws, and others have formulated strategies geared towards promoting XR In this section, we will examine some of these countries and the various XR policies they have implemented within their region.

1. United States of America (USA): The U.S. Government recently passed the new bipartisan ‘Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act of 2022.’The CHIPS and Science Act will help to boost American semiconductor research, development, and production and aims to ensure U.S. leadership in a technology that forms the foundation of everything from automobiles to household appliances to defence systems. This is excellent news for the XR industry, as it opens up a lot of potential funding that XR businesses may benefit from.

Today, America only produces about 10% of the world’s supply of semiconductors, with none of these being the most advanced chips. Instead, the U.S. relies on East Asia for 75% of global production. The passing of the CHIPS and Science Act will therefore help to unlock hundreds of billions of dollars more in private-sector semiconductor investment across the country.

2. The United Arab Emirates (UAE): The United Arab Emirates Government developed an entire Metaverse strategy that aims to turn Dubai into one of the world’s top 10 Metaverse economies and a global hub for the Metaverse community by 2030. The strategy ensures that the Metaverse increases its contribution to 1% of the emirate’s overall GDP (Omalley, 2022).

The Dubai Metaverse Strategy seeks to:

• Foster innovation, boost the economic benefits of Metaverse by collaborating on research and development and promoting advanced ecosystems using accelerators and incubators to attract businesses and projects to Dubai.
• Foster talent and invest in future capabilities by providing the necessary support in metaverse education aimed at developers, content creators and users of digital platforms in the metaverse community
• to develop Web3 technology and its applications to create new governmental work models and development in vital sectors, including tourism, education, retail, remote work, healthcare and the legal industry. (UAE, 2023)

Dubai aims to be one of the leading global economies in the Metaverse and to spread its progress and success globally. The city is already setting solid foundations for the Metaverse to thrive by exploring opportunities around infrastructure, education, technology, and more (Omalley, 2022).

The Dubai Metaverse Strategy focuses on four sectors:

1. tourism,
2. education,
3. government services and
4. retail & real estate.

3. South Korea: In 2020, South Korea earmarked KRW403 billion ($369.7 million) to accelerate the development of the Extended Reality (XR) sector and encourage the uptake of related technologies in crucial industry verticals (Waring, 2020). In 2022, the Artificial Intelligence Institute, Seoul National University (AIIS), together with Meta (formerly Facebook), announces the launch of the AR/VR Innovation Contest as an initiative to support and promote the responsible development of innovative solutions for Extended Reality (XR), including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. The AR/VR Innovation Contest aimed to address the challenges relating to (1) privacy, (2) safety & well-being, and (3) equity & inclusion in the Metaverse (XR Hub Korea, 2022). The Ministry of Science and ICT pledged around $186.7 million in March 2022 to deploy a national, enterprise-grade Metaverse ecosystem. In 2023, The country launched a virtual platform to improve its public services. Metaverse Seoul, a virtual world project, is expected to be finished by 2026. During the first phase, individuals will be able to utilise avatars to obtain answers to tax inquiries, receive counselling for young people, access assistance for small businesses, and read e-books. (Thompson, 2023).

4. China: In 2016, XR technology had its first surge in China. Due to the immaturity of succeeding innovations and their inability to live up to public expectations, this boom, however, petered out in the two years that followed. Five years later, with the emergence of the Metaverse and the commercial success of Meta’s (formerly Facebook) consumer-level VR headset Oculus, China’s XR market has experienced a resurgence as global mobile titans like Huawei, Xiaomi, and OPPO have entered the fray with their releases of smart/AR products. A recent analysis from Counterpoint Research, titled “Overview of China’s XR Market,” examines how XR/AI technology breakthroughs and the adoption of blockchain are the foundations for a fully developed Metaverse. It assesses if the XR market in China has reached a sufficient maturity necessary for mainstream adoption (Lee, 2022).

In August 2022,iQIYI, an innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China, announced that parts of its drama series Fox Spirit Matchmaker (Yuehong Chapter) would involve Extended Reality (XR) Virtual Production, making the show China’s first drama series that adopts the kind of technology in its production (IQIYI Introduces China’s First Extended Reality (XR) Virtual Production Series, Further Integrating Technology and Entertainment, 2022). The Shanghai city department released a five-year development plan that includes encouraging Metaverse use in public services, business offices and other areas.

Impact of XR Policies in Africa

A. Economic impact

PwC’s economic impact assessment indicates that by 2030, XR technologies have the potential to generate a $1.5 trillion increase in the global economy. This figure encompasses various sectors, including the creation of novel customer experiences, acceleration of product development, and enhancement of workplace safety. (How XR Technologies Will Transform the Way We Shop, 2022).

B. Environmental impact

Environmental policymakers communicating about environmental issues face a challenge: people need to recognise the environmental problems because the consequences are usually temporally or physically distant from the causes. Immersive technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, offer an opportunity to bridge this gap by providing direct experiences of environmental threats in a safe environment. These virtual experiences could reduce perceived psychological distance, enhance risk perception of environmental issues, and motivate behaviour change before environmental damage is caused.

The recent global pandemic has contributed to the acceleration of technological advancement, particularly about digital connectivity, automation, immersion, and remote applications. With 5G and satellite Internet constellations, Extended Reality (XR), including virtual; augmented; mixed reality experiences, and Metaverse, an integrated and immersive virtual world will become more accessible worldwide, including in remote regions (Chen et al., 2021, 464–469).

The virtual environment also gives laboratory investigations the context they need to study human behaviour by bringing the field inside the lab. In light of these reasons, immersive technologies provide a potentially useful instrument for implementing and assessing environmental policy.

Recommendations for XR Policy Development in Africa

Just like every other emerging technology, XR is significantly new to Africa and the rest of the world, and the governments of various countries are also finding new ways to develop policies that would govern it. Governments of African countries must also adopt a proactive approach by investing in research and creating strategic frameworks that would enable the continent to benefit tremendously from it. While doing this, they must take heed not to jump into making hasty decisions that would clog the development of this technology ( The Cryptocurrency example) but rather understand this technology and create frameworks which would encourage African innovators to dive deeper into XR research and development(e.g. the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sandbox Regulation which ushered in an era of growth for the fintech sector).

Just like other countries, African leaders must develop policies that are in tune with the African reality and not just blindly adopt foreign policies as theirs.

Best practices for XR policy development

1. Government- Stakeholder policy development approach: the government must work with stakeholders in the ecosystem who already have an experience and understanding of this technology to develop sound policies.
2. In order to optimize the advantages of these technologies for a diverse range of users, policymakers and industry leaders must incorporate feedback from groups that are frequently marginalised in product and policy creation.(Principles and Policies to Unlock the Potential of AR/VR for Equity and Inclusion, 2021).
3. Adopt non-technology specific legislations/policies: while these policies would aim to cater to the XR industry, the letters of these policies must not be specific to enable them to cater to future developments. The law will always follow technology, and it is only by adopting technology-neutral legislative approaches that it can keep pace with the growing technology.
4. Sandbox Regulatory policies: A regulatory sandbox is a regulatory approach, typically summarised in writing and published, that allows live, time-bound testing of innovations under a regulator’s oversight (Briefing on Regulatory Sandboxes, n.d.).
5. To address regulatory ambiguity, policymakers ought to clarify the specific instances in which existing accessibility, anti-discrimination, and privacy laws are applicable to AR/VR solutions. (Principles and Policies to Unlock the Potential of AR/VR for Equity and Inclusion, 2021).
6. To encourage AR/VR innovations that promote equity and inclusion, such as accessible design, government agencies should allocate funds towards research and development. Additionally, inclusive AR/VR solutions should be adopted by the government. (Principles and Policies to Unlock the Potential of AR/VR for Equity and Inclusion, 2021).

Conclusion

According to this study, a large number of African nations have not yet implemented adequate policies and plans to promote the acceptance of AR/VR technology. The government can play a crucial role in addressing this issue and encouraging broader adoption. By dedicating sufficient resources and effort in the early stages, policymakers can ensure that AR/VR innovation continues to progress and that these technologies’ potential expands to accommodate a diverse group of users, irrespective of their participation methods or reasons in the immersive future.

References

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