Afrika Techno Policy

This week we present an except from the G20 South Africa Presidency Concept Note , focusing on Task Force 3 -  Artificial Intelligence, Data Governance, and Innovation for Sustainable Development . This task force is a key component of South Africa's 2025 G20 Presidency, which began on 1 December 2024. We trust our readers will find it of much use during 2025, as the task force gathers momentum. Full text: The transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is widely acknowledged, providing unprecedented economic and social opportunities, accompanied by new policy and regulatory challenges. AI technologies, exemplified by advanced systems like generative, interactive and multimodal AI platforms, have demonstrated their capacity to enhance productivity, foster innovation and analyse large volumes of data to help solve complex problems in many areas of human life. The  capabilities of AI are continually advancing, offering new possibilities, and posing new challenges. T...

As AI foundation models become ubiquitous, the African continent faces a reckoning.  Almost all of the digital technology Africa uses is imported. The anchoring effects of technical codes, standards and specifications act as a kind of shadow regulation that limits how much direct control Africans can have on these systems. Africa cannot afford to be a passive recipient of technologies developed elsewhere, with little consideration for disruptions to local contexts. Instead, a proactive, comprehensive approach to AI safety must emerge, one that is holistic in nature.     A Strategic Imperative for Preserving Self-Determination The traditional approach to tech governance - characterized by reactive regulation (or the lack thereof) - is inadequate. By contrast, an African AI Safety Institute could rise above the narrow confines of technical assessment. Its mandate could extend far beyond simple compliance or risk mitigation to better understanding the ways in which alg...

I recently watched a documentary on Namibia. The documentary seemed to suggest, albeit   inconclusively, that the Southern African state could be named as Africa’s New Eldorado. Eldorado is a sweet and soothing name which reflects a state with legendary riches. However, there was a subtle but powerful undercurrent of irony in the documentary. While suggesting potential wealth and prosperity (the ‘New Eldorado’ concept), the documentary presented a narrative about post-colonial experiences in the Namibian state, highlighting the gap between economic promise and social reality in Namibia. In many African cultures, names are far more than mere labels - they are repositories of history, prophecy, social context, and personal narrative. The practice of changing names , is not just a personal quirk but often a complex social and political act. So, the description of the Namibian state   got me thinking, rather curiously, about what is in a name. Specifically, I asked myself, “Wh...

In the first instalment of this series , ethics were defined as the ‘dynamic basis upon which the normative evaluation and guidance of AI technologies should be founded.’ Determining the most appropriate ethical framework for AI is a complex task, and it is likely that no single approach can fully address all the challenges involved.  In the African context, the impact of AI (good or bad) will have to be measured and evaluated by African countries themselves. In this instalment, key stakeholders in AI research on the continent are urged to actively participate in this discourse by seriously considering the philosophy of ubuntu as a viable and legitimate ethical framework for AI. As the custodians of ubuntu it is incumbent on Africans to champion its value in the ethics debate and present it as a viable option to the rest of the global community. I write this piece to both the younger and older versions of myself – and others like me.  The younger who silently thought ‘can anyt...