While efforts by the U.S., European Union and China dominate the coverage around how to regulate artificial intelligence, a less-publicized but vital discourse about AI is taking place throughout Africa, Aubra Anthony and Jane Munga report in their in-depth piece for WPR.
In a flurry of recent activity around AI, including industry conferences, startups, community initiatives and national policy proposals, the continent’s governments and citizens are acknowledging the significant societal consequences that AI will have, while signaling their determination that AI—and its governance—be shaped by those it affects.
And while policymakers in the Global North work to solve thorny problems of risk mitigation for frontier AI models to ensure that AI is safe, most African policymakers face another challenge: how to responsibly leverage AI to accelerate national development.