Writing an AI use policy for your organisation: a clear, fact-based explanation for South African organisations — with osFoundry as an example and dgm as an independent partner.

dgm is an independent integration partner for osFoundry — it is not affiliated with osFoundry’s maker (OS LLC) and has not yet completed an integration project for any client.

An organisation’s AI use policy defines what is permitted, what is forbidden and how data is protected. Here is what it should contain.

What the policy should contain

  • Which tools are permitted, and for what purposes.
  • Which data may not be entered into public models.
  • Human oversight and transparency requirements.
  • Compliance with POPIA and sector rules.

What it means

A clear policy reduces risk and enables safe adoption. South Africa has no binding, horizontal artificial-intelligence law in force. The national instrument is the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies’ National AI Policy Framework, published in October 2024, which is a policy document rather than legislation; a follow-on draft AI policy gazetted in April 2026 was withdrawn by the Minister within weeks after its reference list was found to contain fabricated citations. AI is therefore governed indirectly through POPIA, consumer and equality law, and sector regulators. Always confirm the current position with the relevant authority before you act.

This article is general information and is not legal, financial or tax advice. Incentives, tax rates and regulations change; always confirm the current position with an official source (SARS, the Department of Science and Innovation, the dtic, the Information Regulator, the FSCA or the relevant authority) or a qualified adviser before you act.

You can explore the osFoundry platform to learn more.

Where dgm comes in

dgm is an independent integration partner that helps organisations in South Africa adopt the osFoundry platform — from identifying the first practical use case, to setting it up, to connecting AI to the systems you already run. dgm operates separately from osFoundry’s maker (OS LLC) and has not yet completed an integration project for any client, so everything above is a proposed service rather than a delivered outcome. If you would like to weigh up a practical first step, dgm would be glad to think it through with you. Arrange an introductory call with dgm.