AI Governance, Africa and SDGs: Opportunities and Challenges

The overall aim of the session is to look at AI governance arrangements that can help achieve SDGs in Africa. Currently, there is very little discussion around the role that AI governance can contribute in the achievement of SDGs in Africa and yet without proper governance arrangements it will be a challenge to realize the UN SDGs. This is problematic if we are to believe that AI can be used for social good and in helping to meet the SDGs, most of which speak to the social and economic challenges faced by the Global South, in particular Africa.

Currently, the AI ecosystem is dominated by data, algorithms and ethics from the Global North which for the most part considers some AI governance arrangements that do not necessarily speak to African experiences and values. For instance, AI regulations currently in development in the EU and US, have the potential to negatively impact African nations under the extraterritorial application principle. A consideration of AI governance arrangements from an African perspective will ensure an inclusion of the rich and diverse African principles such as Ubuntu and Ujaama that can result in a truly responsible AI for Africa which can subsequently contrite to the achievement of the UN SDGs. It is necessary to acknowledge that the adoption of AI in the Global South is fraught with challenges which include infrastructure, lack of proper governance AI policies, representative datasets and dependency on technology giants from the Global North. The session’s main aim is to therefore look at AI cases and the role AI governance can play in contributing to achieving SDGs in many domain areas such as commercial services, education, and public services including partnerships to enable sustainable development. The panel will also focus on policy recommnedations coming from Africa stakeholders and suggest how these can suceed.