“As far as responsible AI is concerned”- that is a phrase one is almost certain to hear echoing after every speech delivered by Professor Jerry John Kponyo at any technology-related gathering.

Affectionately christened “Professor AI” by the KNUST Council Chair, Akyamfour Asafo Boakye Agyemang-Bonsu, Professor Kponyo speaks about artificial intelligence with a conviction that is both intellectual and deeply personal.

The passion that flows from him when he addresses AI is reminiscent of a street preacher at a bustling lorry station: animated, urgent, and impossible to ignore. It is as though he has been commissioned, much like John the Baptist, to herald the coming of AI into the Ghanaian space, as a force that must be embraced responsibly.

Now, with Cabinet’s approval of Ghana’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy, the heartbeat of this journey can be traced to a consistent intellectual force: Professor Jerry John Kponyo, Scientific Director of the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Lab at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST). Through speech after speech, forum after forum, he has steadily guided Ghana’s national conversation on responsible artificial intelligence.

2022: The call for strategy

At an expert consultation in March 2022, when Ghana was still exploring ethical principles for AI, Prof. Kponyo delivered a message that would later echo through the national framework.

“We must be strategic as a nation and lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the sub-region,” he emphasised.

He warned about the absence of a clear national AI strategy and pointed to challenges in data infrastructure, skilled personnel and governance structures. Ghana, he suggested, could not afford to adopt AI without preparation.

He called for a National AI Advisory Expert Group and an implementation oversight mechanism, urging policymakers to move from fragmented initiatives to coordinated national action.

Three years later, at the high-level National AI Strategy Consultation in April 2025, his message carried renewed urgency.

“We consider this a sacred duty,” he stated. “KNUST is fully committed to engaging all stakeholders and ensuring the strategy is adopted on schedule.”

Presenting the draft strategy, he outlined pillars designed to guide ethical and transformative AI adoption across healthcare, education, governance and agriculture. But beyond the technical details, his emphasis remained clear: AI must serve people, not the other way around.

“AI-ready Ghana”
At the second consultation in Kumasi, Prof. Kponyo shifted toward implementation.
He proposed an “AI-ready Ghana” programme, expanded AI education and stronger partnerships to improve national data infrastructure. He also announced plans for a Responsible AI Office to ensure compliance with ethical standards.
The consistency was evident. The concerns he raised in 2022 about infrastructure and oversight had evolved into structured institutional responses.

During the judiciary-focused consultation later in April 2025, as legal experts warned against bias and unregulated deployment, Prof. Kponyo reaffirmed the importance of human oversight.

“AI must be people-centred,” he stressed, assuring participants that Ghana’s roadmap would remain aligned with constitutional values and democratic accountability.
He maintained that the strategy was on track for approval and reiterated a broader ambition.
'We are positioning Ghana as a leading AI hub by 2035,” he said.
Across consultations, one thread ran through Prof. Kponyo’s speeches, an urgency balanced with responsibility.
“We must be strategic as a nation,” he had said in 2022.
“We consider this a sacred duty,” he declared in 2025.
In tracing the speeches, it becomes clear his intentionality in acing Ghana’s AI milestone.