Tholang Mathopa’s Post

Exciting Developments in African AI Regulation Thrilled to share this insightful article from MIT Technology Review highlighting the progressive strides being made in AI regulation across Africa. The piece sheds light on the innovative policy framework being crafted by the African Union (AU) to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence. With a focus on balancing technological advancement with ethical considerations, this initiative aims to foster responsible AI development while ensuring inclusive growth across the continent. Key takeaways include: Emphasis on Ethical AI: The AU's approach prioritizes ethical guidelines to safeguard against potential biases and ensure AI benefits all communities. Collaboration and Consensus: Through collaborative efforts among member states, the AU is working to establish a unified regulatory framework conducive to AI innovation. Economic Empowerment: By fostering a supportive environment for AI development, Africa stands to leverage technological advancements for economic growth and job creation. As professionals in the AI space, it's inspiring to witness Africa's proactive approach to AI regulation, setting a precedent for inclusive and ethical AI practices worldwide. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/daFnNSq2 Let's continue to champion responsible AI development and collaborate towards a future where technology serves the greater good. #AI #EthicalAI #Africa #Regulation #TechPolicy #Innovation Romi Sumaria

#ai4good interesting report of the African Observatory on Responsible AI for the public interest, offering useful perspectives from the Global South. "Responsible #AI Governance in #Africa: Prospects for Outcomes Based Regulation” explores the model of outcomes-based regulation as a governance framework for fostering responsible AI practices. Report here: https://lnkd.in/epqrVMG3 Key insights: -      At an African level, fewer than 10 countries have adopted a national AI strategy. The common objectives of these AI country strategies include a focus on governance through the establishment of national AI councils, national data strategies, investments in infrastructure, skills and capacity building as well as research and development. -      Crucially, these strategies offer no insights on what the governance of AI may look like in the future. Further, they offer no clarity around the kind of socio-economic outcomes that the governance must help produce. -      While AI policies are emerging across Africa and countries such as #Egypt, #Mauritius and #Rwanda have published their national AI strategies, Africa remains dominated by foreign technology and the foreign AI companies are not necessarily supporting the realization of the national developmental priorities such as those outlined in the African Union’s Agenda 2063. -      The preferred approach to regulation is changing globally. 73 As countries grapple with the challenge of regulating an industry that is evolving and not fully understood, a spectrum of governance models for AI is emerging. For emerging economies ... exercising oversight over the use of AI must focus on mitigating the effects of the technology rather than micromanaging the technology itself. This entails an agile approach of setting risk-based performance standards based on consistently current information of the developments and trends in AI.

In this blog post for The World Bank, Aubra Anthony, Jane Munga, and Sharmista Appaya explore how Africa can play a greater role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence.    Global AI governance should include enabling Africa’s AI ecosystems to thrive. AI governance must be grounded in a recognition of the importance of support for Africa's AI knowledge and talent, infrastructure and institutions, data ecosystems, and regional and global coordination. Check it out here:  👇 https://lnkd.in/edAYwva2

The adoption of AI in Africa is gaining momentum, with various countries exploring its potential benefits across different sectors. The African Union is spearheading efforts to develop a comprehensive AI policy, aiming to address regulatory gaps and promote responsible AI deployment. However, challenges such as poor digital infrastructure and limited access to quality training data threaten to impede progress. While some argue for prioritizing AI industry development before regulation, others emphasize the importance of proactive regulation to mitigate potential risks and ensure AI benefits are realized. The absence of African voices in global AI governance discussions underscores the need for Africa to shape its own regulatory frameworks and become standard makers in the AI space. As AI continues to evolve and be deployed, ethical considerations and regulatory needs become increasingly important. How can Africa strike the right balance between fostering AI innovation and safeguarding against potential harms through effective regulation? #ai #africa #ethics

""At an African level, fewer than 10 countries have adopted a national AI strategy. The common objectives of these AI country strategies include a focus on governance through the establishment of national AI councils, national data strategies, investments in infrastructure, skills and capacity building as well as research and development. Crucially, these strategies offer no insights on what the governance of AI may look like in the future. Further, they offer no clarity around the kind of socio-economic outcomes that the governance must help produce. Consequently, the first pillar in the AU continental strategy is harness human capital development for AI and a strong desire for African governments to collaborate for AI to empower Africa to overcome developmental challenges and drive socio-economic transformation." (page 10)" via Luiza Jarovsky on X https://lnkd.in/d69Ru8_8

Another brilliant resource on understanding Responsible AI Governance in Africa. The paper makes a case for why for emerging economies, outcome-based regulation should be preferred in acknowledgement of the harm that rapid adoption of unregulated AI-based systems can cause. It acknowledges that foreign AI technologies are dominating the African continent, providing technology products and solutions that may not align with local developmental priorities. Therefore, to effectively support local AI capacity that suits local economies and ecosystems, AI policy responses should be based on national digital agendas and prioritise the development of inclusive digital, data and computing infrastructure, as well as digital skills. Furthermore, outcomes based regulations which are formulated based on local socio-economic realities compel regard for these realities notwithstanding the prescriptions in corporate policies of AI foreign companies. One of the key challenges of outcome-based AI regulation discussed in the paper is that in moving the focus of regulation to outcomes, the challenge is identifying target outcomes and deciding how these will be measured to assess whether AI companies can fulfill their obligations. This is because previously unknown and unforeseen challenges come in the wake of new developments, and the inability to foresee these issues makes them difficult to regulate. Link to the the report: https://lnkd.in/dRihXPZN

✅ At the recently concluded GAIN Assembly, we engaged with the UN Secretary General's High Level Advisory Body on AI to give feedback on the Interim Report on Governing AI for Humanity. The report is very clear in emphasising the importance of engaging the Global South when developing AI governance frameworks. ✅ The African Union is finalising the continental strategy on AI, several African countries are developing their national strategies and 20 African countries have commissioned the Islamic World AI Charter. ✅ African countries need to continue being proactive and intentional in shaping the future of AI development, deployment and regulation.

Another brilliant resource on understanding Responsible AI Governance in Africa.The paper advocates for outcomes-based regulation as a framework for responsible AI practices, focusing on legal and technological perspectives. Key points include: - The role of regulatory bodies, corporate actors, and public participation in shaping AI regulation in Africa. - The need for a flexible and adaptive regulatory approach centered on sustainable and inclusive development. - Recommendations for regulators to conduct an inventory of existing outcome-based regulations, adopt a sectoral approach to target specific harms, and experiment with regulatory sandboxes for agile governance. - The importance of considering governance throughout the AI model lifecycle and incentivizing desired outcomes rather than strict rule enforcement. The paper concludes with an analysis of global AI regulatory frameworks and the potential for Africa to develop equitable AI governance models that address both opportunities and challenges presented by AI technologies.

The Governing AI for Humanity report, produced by the UN's High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, stresses the urgent need for global AI governance to harness AI's benefits while mitigating risks. AI’s rapid development poses significant challenges, including deepening inequalities, surveillance, and environmental concerns. Current governance frameworks are fragmented and lack global representation, particularly excluding the Global South. The report proposes four pillars for a comprehensive governance strategy: common understanding through an international scientific panel; common ground via global policy dialogues and standards exchange; common benefits, by building a capacity development network and global fund to address the AI divide; and coherent effort, through a dedicated AI office in the UN Secretariat to coordinate governance initiatives. It calls for immediate action to create an inclusive, flexible governance system to ensure AI benefits are equitably shared while its risks are effectively managed.

Africa is paving the way for a brighter digital future with the announcement of a continent-wide AI policy by the African Union. This marks a significant step towards blending technological advancement with sustainable growth, ensuring that AI benefits are maximized while addressing infrastructural and regulatory challenges. Africa's commitment to AI innovation is reinforced with this announcement. #AI #AIRegulation #AfricaTech #InnovationPolicy