Science Summit at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78)

Introduction and aims

The overall aim of the session is to look at AI governance arrangements that can help achieve SDGs in Africa. Currently, there is very little discussion around the role that AI governance can contribute in the achievement of SDGs in Africa and yet without proper governance arrangements it will be a challenge to realise the UN SDGs. This is problematic if we are to believe that AI can be used for social good and in helping to meet the SDGs, most of which speak to the social and economic challenges faced by the Global South, in particular Africa. Currently, the AI ecosystem is dominated by data, algorithms and ethics from the Global North which for the most part considers some AI governance arrangements that do not necessarily speak to African experiences and values.For instance, AI regulations currently in development in the EU and US, have the potential to negatively impact African nations under the extraterritorial application principle. A consideration of AI governance arrangements from an Afrian perspective will ensure an inclusion of the rich and diverse African principles such as Ubuntu and Ujaama that can result in a truly responsible AI for Africa which can subsequently contrite to the achievement of the UN SDGs. It is necessary to acknowledge that the adoption of AI in the Global South is fraught with challenges which include infrastructure, lack of proper governance AI policies, representative datasets and dependency on technology giants from the Global North. The session's main aim is to therefore look at AI cases and the role AI governance can play in contributing to achieving SDGs in many domain areas such as commercial services, education, and public services including partnerships to enable sustainable development. The panel will also focus on policy recommnedations coming from Africa stakeholders and suggest how these can suceed.

Abstract

There is a dearth of African AI narratives in the global AI discourse which are important in understanding Africa’s AI needs, values, contexts, principles, data and expectations. This dearth is especially reflected in the lack of robust AI governance arrangements which contribute to neglecting and forgetting these narratives through epistemic injustice. This means that AI systems will be designed and deployed in Africa without embedding critical African values and principles. Such exclusion means that there remains a risk of AI colonialism and neo-colonialism that extrapolates AI governance arrangements from the West to Africa which has implications for real, sustainable development. AI is as good as the AI governance within which it can operate. Without proper AI governance that does not address the needs and experiences of Africa, the danger is that unfair biases and discrimination will continue. For inclusive benefits and human flourishing, it is therefore imperative not to ignore the role of AI governance in achieving the SDGs. This session, therefore addresses this by considering African values, principles, data and contexts in a way to allow for the co-creation and development of responsible AI systems through robust AI governance. To do this, the session has four speakers from diverse AI backgrounds that will present individual cases by applying an AI governance lens to illustrate how these cases can contribute to achieving the UN SDGs.