Judicial Institute to Africa, Law Faculty, University of Cape Town
Responses
In your opinion, what outcomes would make the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance a success?
Implementable guidelines for governance and AI usage in under resourced environments. Discussion addressing the massive gaps in resourcing across Africa and the risk of exacerbating technological divide inequalities, and how to counterbalance this.
From your perspective, which of the following thematic areas identified by the General Assembly Resolution 79/325 for the AI Dialogue reflect your priorities for urgent action and active engagement?
- AI capacity-building
- Protection and promotion of human rights
- Transparency, accountability, and human oversight
- Open-source software, open data and open AI models
Please briefly explain your selection.
3
We work with facilitating training for Judiciaries in Africa in AI. We are concerned about how judicial officers across Africa are grappling with AI as it affects their own work and the substantive decisions that they are required to make. AI Capacity building is essential in this context, to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights, and to ensure that the courts are developing the law in a way that promotes transparency, accountability and human oversight. We are aware of the significant resourcing difficulties faced by most judges and judicial officers across Africa. Most are using their own laptops, paying their own licencing fees etc. Open AI models become so important in that context, to ensure that African jurisdictions are not left behind.
How are the governance gaps and related developments/advances in the thematic areas you selected above affecting your country, region, or sector? Please highlight the most significant challenges.
Judiciaries in Africa are being left behind in resourcing - AI implementation is patchy, lacking in governance, usually personally implemented. Judges do not have the understanding and Judiciaries do not have the infrastructural capacity for trying cases brought to court that involve AI, evidence, tech or AI crimes. Training focused on the African context is lacking. However, AI properly implemented also offers significant opportunities for improving access to courts through improving efficiency (automated transcription, court roll management, automated summonsing, filing, archiving etc. real time interpretation), African judiciaries are slowly developing the required governance documents.
What role can the AI Dialogue play in advancing international cooperation on AI governance?
Translating global Principles into contextual practice -@ building Shared vocabulary and baseline standards -@ Facilitating South–South and South–North knowledge exchange -@ Embedding human rights and rule-@of-@law safeguards into the discussion
What are some of the existing initiatives, partnerships, or mechanisms that the AI Dialogue should build upon or connect with, and what added value could the AI Dialogue bring?
Consolidating the various governance policies, but also including African voices in this list. We would like to see representatives from the African Network for Judicial Trainers (https://judicialtrainers.africa) which is a network of relating training institutes from around Africa being included in the dialogue.
How can different stakeholders contribute to the AI Dialogue? Please share recommendations for the format and structure of the AI Dialogue.
In addition to talks and engagements, opportunities to share developed resources in a centralised place (allowing engagement outside of the Dialogue)
Which voices, communities, or perspectives are currently underrepresented in global discussions on AI governance? How could they be included?
Judicial voices from Africa (see recommendation of inclusion of https://judicialtrainers.africa/ )
Please share examples of policies, practices, platforms, or approaches that promote effective AI governance or offer concrete solutions to addressing its challenges.
Research ICT Africa's Just AI Framework of Inquiry (www.researchictafrica.net)