The advancements of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are profoundly changing our economies and societies. AI is integrating into most aspects of life, producing new efficiencies and enhancing human capacities. Across Africa, (AI) presents unprecedented opportunities to drive inclusive growth, innovation, and public service delivery. In 2024, the Africa Union took a commendable step by developing and adopting a Continental AI Strategy to guide innovation, policy alignment, and ethical deployment across member states. However, the global AI landscape is shifting rapidly shaped by intensifying geopolitical competition, emerging international regulatory frameworks, and transformative AI capabilities. Therefore, Africa is at a pivotal moment in shaping its AI trajectory not to remain as a passive recipient of global rules but as a co-author of international norms, informed by local realities and development goals.
Objective:The session aims to be visionary, strategic, and action-oriented, reflecting Africa’s unique challenges and opportunities in the global AI landscape. The session will explore how African countries can develop AI ecosystems rooted in local context, ensuring they are not merely consumers of AI, but architects of their own future.
Key Discussion Areas:1. What roles should African countries play in shaping emerging global AI frameworks? How can we institutionalize Africa’s influence in global AI governance bodies and standards-setting processes? How can Africa assert strategic agency in fora like the UN, G7 Hiroshima Process, and GDC? What institutional mechanisms (e.g., advisory groups, coalitions) are needed to coordinate African voice in multilateral spaces?
2. What is the role of public-private partnerships in bridging the AI skills and infrastructure gap across the continent? What are the gaps in infrastructure, policy, and talent across the continent? And what should governments/states do to address these gaps? How can African states move from strategic vision to coordinated action?
3. What are the barriers to national and regional implementation of the AU AI Strategy?
4.What are the risks of dependency on foreign AI systems?, and how can open-source or regional AI infrastructures offer alternatives?
5.How is ICANN adapting its governance approach to ensure the stability, security, and resilience of the domain name system in the age of autonomous systems and algorithmic decision-making?"
8. How can ICANN support the region in developing resilient, AI-ready internet infrastructure including secure, inclusive access to the DNS and trusted digital identity systems that underpin AI-enabled economies?"
9. How can all stakeholders collaborate to ensure that AI frameworks meaningfully reflect the needs and the rights in Africa?
Expected Outcomes:● Draft of key African principles for AI governance_
● A proposal to establish a Pan-African AI Governance Coordination Mechanism, interfacing with global bodies (OECD, GDC, UN AI Advisory, etc.)
● Identification of priority areas for capacity building &innovation hubs
Moderator:Hon. Alhagie Mbow, Chair, Africa IGF MAG
Speakers:- Mr. Mehdi Snene, Senior Advisor on AI and Digital Transformation, Office of the UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology
- H.E. Ms. Emma Theofelus, Minister of ICT, Republic of Namibia
- Dr. Hoda Baraka, Advisor to the Minister for Technology Talent Development, Arab Republic of Egypt
Rapporteur:Dr. Khouzeifi Issakha Doud-Bane, AfIGF MAG Member
