A Common Future

As far as I am concerned and from the African perspective, the major outcome that would make the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance a success would be the issue of regaining agency. A more concerning priority for the African region would be to address the human rights concerns in rolling out AI in Africa and more importantly, African data generated by Africans is trained on AI

• Safe, secure and trustworthy AI
• Protection and promotion of human rights
• Transparency, accountability, and human oversight
• AI capacity-building

Capacity building and especially AI literacy is critical for the African continent in order for its citizens not to miss out again on the 4th industrial revolution. Central to this AI literacy is the need for a safe, secure and trustworthy AI. As stated earlier, AI roll out on the African continent would only benefit the population if human rights assessment and environmental concerns are seriously taken into consideration. Above all, transparency, accountability and human oversight are as central to the success of AI as are the social, economic, ethical, cultural and linguistic implications

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For my country, Cameroon in particular, an AI Strategy is still lacking and so there are not any governance structures in place, although reflections at the governmental level have already begun. A major governance gap here would be the government's reluctance in involving the civil Society and other stakeholders.

The AI Dialogue can play a central and critical role in advancing international cooperation on AI governance because as it stands the major players in the field of AI are still playing in dispersed ranges and need a high level of international cooperation and collaboration before citizens can actually enjoy the promised fruits of AI

They are legion, including: OECD-African Union AI Dialogue, African Union's Continental AI Strategy, AI 10 Billion Initiative, AI for Peace Africa, Smart Africa's AI Blueprint, National AI Strategies, OpenAI Africa, Google's AI Training Initiative, and Local AI Research Centers

Government representatives could share policy priorities and regulatory frameworks on AI Governance, the academia and researchers on innovation and possible applications in various sectors, industry experts on AI adoption, challenges and opportunities, civil Society organizations could highlight ethical and social implications, as well as potential risks involved in the development and deployment of AI, while developers and the tech community could share technical expertise, innovation and best practices in AI development. Formats and structure could include multi stakeholder panels, breakout sessions, interactive workshops, and case study and success stories

From every indication, global South voices, marginalized groups including women, persons with disabilities and LGBTQ+ persons, and those in rural and indigenous communities are often underrepresented in global discussions on AI. As I stated earlier, they can only be included if they receive education and sensitization on AI literacy, capacity building, community driven AI initiatives, inclusive decision making and more importantly, include them in multi stakeholder panels

Fireside chats, hackathons and interactive workshops are some of the most creative ways that could make the AI Dialogue more engaging

African Union's Continental AI Strategy and Country level AI strategies aiming to improve and promote transparency and accountability in AI governance