THE NEXT DECADE OF AI IN AFRICA

As artificial intelligence (AI) tools become more ubiquitous and their future applications promise to completely transform critical facets of economic and social life, experts and policymakers alike have begun to contend with exactly what such a transformation would mean for society. Across Africa, these conversations are particularly pertinent, as the breakneck speed at which these technologies are being developed is increasingly coming up against governments’ abilities to adequately plan and prepare for these upheavals.

In addition to the ongoing debates on labor automation and the environmental costs of massive data servers, it would be helpful to understand how these global questions translate to the African context. On Sep. 10th, The Africa Center will convene a panel of experts and practitioners with substantive grounding in the AI space as it exists in Africa today, to examine the most pressing policy challenges facing the continent and its immediate future. To what extent should African countries look to prioritize AI readiness, and what would this look like in the context of other critical development priorities?

While many thoughtful analyses and predictions have sought to forecast how quickly (and how exactly) AI technologies will disrupt human society, precious few of these insights have specifically considered Africa and how its infrastructural, regulatory, and economic conditions might affect the realization of much of this AI promise. The discussion will look to explore:

-The risk of Africa falling behind on AI adoption at scale
-Implications of a lagging regulatory environment
-AI and digital privacy, narratives, and national sovereignty
-Human capital, fairness, and dignity

PANELISTS

ADEYEMI OWOADE
Adeyemi Owoade is a legal and policy advisor with expertise in AI governance, technology regulation, and innovation across Africa. He has advised companies within and outside Nigeria on navigating compliance with Nigerian laws, especially in the context of artificial intelligence. His work spans the telecommunications, media, and technology sectors, where he provides strategic guidance on integrating AI tools within Africa’s evolving legal and regulatory frameworks.

MUTALE NKONDE
Mutale Nkonde is the founding director of AI for the People, a non profit communications firm that uses journalism, arts and culture to advance racial justice in tech. She began her career as a broadcast journalist and produced documentaries for the BBC, CNN and ABC before transitioning into the world of tech.. She now also writes widely on race and technology, as well as speaks at conferences across the world. Mutale Nkonde is currently a PhD student at Cambridge Digital Humanities, has recieved a fellowship at the Digital Civil Society Lab at Stanford University and is an affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

AYANTOLA AYALANDE
Ayantola Alayande is a Researcher at the Global Center on AI Governance, where he works on issues of international cooperation in AI policymaking and governance, AI development in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), compute governance, state-led AI governance in Africa, and AI security. His broader interests span the geopolitics/geoeconomics of emerging technologies, global governance, technology and industrial policy, Africa-in-major-power-competition, and digital methods/media. His writings have appeared in several notable research outlets, including Nature, the Atlantic Council, The Productivity Institute, The Productivity Monitor, the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Research ICT Africa, among others.

MIRIAM NKOMALAGO
Miriam Nkomalago is the Founder and Content Writer of AI Frontier Africa, a specialised newsletter dedicated to advancing conversations on artificial intelligence governance, policy, and innovation across the African continent. Her work focuses on the intersection of technology, law, and public policy, with a particular emphasis on ensuring Africa is not left behind in global AI adoption.