US, Nigeria Seek AI Governance Framework in Africa

To enhance the adoption of of Artificial Intelligence in Africa, the United States, Nigeria and international stakeholders have chatted a way for interoperable frameworks and aligned governance frameworks that will allow African countries in partnership with the United States to innovate with the technology.

Speaking during a Global Inclusivity and AI – Africa (GIAA) Conference held in Lagos by the African Media Hub United States Department of State, the Acting Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology, US Department of State, Dr. Seth Center, noted that many of the countries in Africa were developing their respective national AI strategies, hence the need for cooperation in terms of AI governance.

He said: “The first is a recognition that fundamentally, whether at a regional level or a global level, we are not on track to achieve what all of us believe are the most important components of the global Sustainable Development Goals, and we have an opportunity to use this new technology and this technology revolution to accelerate many of the goals – perhaps up to 80 per cent.

“And what was most striking in terms of the conversations that we had in this conference, and I think a real launchpad for action, is the excitement and optimism around the opportunity to use AI on top of a larger digital revolution to accelerate progress on all of these goals.

“There’s an intense focus at the continental level now that there’s an AU AI strategy to try and create interoperable frameworks, aligned governance frameworks that will allow us to innovate.”

“And so what we hoped to do out of this conference and achieve in this conference was to get agreement that we want to have governance frameworks that work across boundaries; that we want to make sure that we understand the kinds of tools, the kinds of access that companies and startups need in the region; and then we also want to make sure that our private sector actors coming out of other parts of the world are focused on the unique problems and unique priorities in the region.”

Also speaking, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, US Department of State, Joy Basu, said: “The only thing I would add to that is how valuable it was to be able to listen to our African partners and to listen to leaders from across the continent talk about the opportunities in Africa for the application of AI to the industries and examples that Dr. Center delineated.