‘How would you feel if your father is put in a coffin?’ Kabogo vows to engage Gen Zs on ethical internet use

ICT and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary nominee William Kabogo now says he will engage Kenyan youth online in a bid to push for responsible use of social media platforms and Artificial Intelligence (A.I) if approved for appointment to the position.

Kabogo, speaking when he appeared for vetting at County Hall on Tuesday, spoke in reference to the recent trend where Kenyans online have been creating A.I-assisted images of political leaders and putting them in coffins in protest against government policies.

The former Kiambu Governor noted that he will endeavor to sensitize the youth on responsible use of social media and its tools to ensure that they understand the consequences of their actions when creating such images of fellow human beings who also have families, just like they (Gen Zs) also will someday.

“We should be thinking about engaging the younger generation, the Gen Zs and millennials, on how to have to have ethical use of the internet space. Because today they may be Gen Zs, but in a couple of years, they will be fathers, and the engagement should be such that if you put Kabogo in a coffin, as is the case now, but one time they will be fathers like me, how would they feel when their father is put in a coffin?” He posed.

Kabogo however also went ahead to state that there already exist laws governing such misuse of the online space, but rather what is lacking is simply implementation, which he intends to push for if appointed to lead the docket.

“Very energetic young men and women take to social media to send information; some fake, some real. By use of A.I, they could easily get my picture as Kabogo and use it to spread fake news as it is me who is saying. Suffice to say, laws that govern computer misuse are there, it’s just the part of enforcement that needs to be improved,” he stated.

“And also, regular review of the law, but cognizant of the fact that there is freedom of expression in Kenya, and we have to strike a balance so that the freedom of one is not used to infringe on the freedom of others.”