HakiDigital Initiative

A successful first Global Dialogue on AI Governance should move beyond principles to tangible, inclusive, and action-oriented outcomes. First, it should establish a shared baseline of commitments grounded in human rights, equity, and accountability, while allowing flexibility for contextual adaptation across regions. Second, success would mean meaningful inclusion of underrepresented voices, particularly from the Global South, ensuring that governance frameworks are informed by lived realities rather than imposed models. This includes civil society, youth, and grassroots actors being recognized as co-creators, not just consultees. Third, the dialogue should produce clear pathways for implementation. This could include commitments to capacity-building, resource mobilization, and knowledge-sharing mechanisms that enable countries with limited technical infrastructure to participate effectively in AI governance. Fourth, strengthening coordination across existing initiatives would be critical. Avoiding fragmentation and promoting interoperability between regional and global governance efforts would signal progress toward a more coherent ecosystem. Finally, a successful outcome would include mechanisms for accountability and continuity, such as follow-up processes, measurable indicators, and multi-stakeholder platforms to track progress over time. Without this, the dialogue risks remaining symbolic. Ultimately, success lies in shifting from high-level consensus to practical, inclusive, and enforceable approaches that reflect global diversity while safeguarding fundamental rights.

• Interoperability of governance approaches
• Transparency, accountability, and human oversight
• Social, economic, ethical, cultural, linguistic and technical implications of AI

The protection and promotion of human rights is essential because AI systems are already shaping access to information, civic participation, and freedoms such as expression and privacy. Without a strong rights-based foundation, AI risks reinforcing existing inequalities and enabling harm. Transparency, accountability, and human oversight are critical to addressing the opacity of many AI systems. In contexts where algorithmic decisions affect livelihoods, information ecosystems, and governance, there must be clear mechanisms to understand, challenge, and redress harms. Finally, the broader social, economic, ethical, cultural, linguistic, and technical implications of AI are particularly relevant in diverse societies. AI systems often fail to reflect local languages and contexts, leading to exclusion or misrepresentation. Addressing these dimensions ensures that AI is inclusive, context-sensitive, and beneficial across different communities.

Yes, it is crucial to specifically PRIORITIZE the unconnected to mitigate their further inclusion in AI Another critical cross-cutting issue is the growing influence of narratives and information ecosystems in shaping how AI is understood, adopted, and governed. Public discourse around AI is often driven by simplified or industry-aligned narratives, which can obscure risks, limit critical engagement, and exclude diverse perspectives. Addressing this requires intentional efforts toward narrative pluralism, public education, and media accountability.

In Kenya and across Africa, governance gaps in AI are increasingly visible across social, economic, ethical, cultural, linguistic, and technical dimensions. AI systems are being integrated into information ecosystems, financial services, and public decision-making, yet regulatory and oversight frameworks remain fragmented and underdeveloped. A key challenge lies in the social and informational sphere, where AI-driven content amplification contributes to misinformation and polarization, with direct implications for civic processes and public trust. Economically, there is a risk of deepening inequality as countries with limited AI infrastructure and skills remain consumers rather than producers of AI technologies. Culturally and linguistically, many AI systems inadequately represent African languages and contexts, leading to exclusion, bias, and misrepresentation. This reinforces digital marginalization and limits meaningful participation in digital spaces. From a governance perspective, weak interoperability between emerging national, regional, and global frameworks creates uncertainty and limits coordination. Many African countries are in early stages of AI policy development, and the lack of harmonized approaches risks regulatory fragmentation or dependence on external standards that may not reflect local realities. Transparency, accountability, and human oversight remain significant gaps. AI systems are often deployed without clear mechanisms for explainability or redress, particularly in contexts affecting access to information, financial inclusion, or public services. However, these challenges also present opportunities. There is growing momentum for rights-based, inclusive AI governance, alongside increased interest in capacity-building, regional cooperation, and locally grounded innovation. Africa has the opportunity to shape context-responsive governance models that prioritize equity, linguistic diversity, and community participation. Strengthening multi-stakeholder engagement, investing in local expertise, and advancing interoperable yet context-sensitive frameworks will be critical to ensuring that AI systems are both accountable and beneficial to society.

The AI Dialogue can play a critical convening and bridging role in advancing international cooperation by aligning fragmented efforts into a more coherent, inclusive, and action-oriented global ecosystem. At present, AI governance is characterized by multiple parallel initiatives with varying standards, priorities, and levels of inclusion. The Dialogue can help reduce this fragmentation by fostering interoperability across governance approaches while respecting regional and national contexts.

The AI Dialogue should build upon and connect with a range of existing global, regional, and local initiatives to avoid duplication and strengthen coherence. These include multilateral processes such as the United Nations' digital cooperation efforts, UNESCO's Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, and the OECD AI Principles, as well as multi-stakeholder platforms like the Internet Governance Forum. At the regional level, initiatives such as the East Africa AI Regional Integration agenda are particularly গুরুত্বপূর্ণ. This emerging effort reflects the need for coordinated policy development, shared infrastructure, and cross-border collaboration within the East African Community. It highlights the importance of aligning national strategies while addressing common challenges such as capacity gaps, data governance, and digital inclusion. The Dialogue can also connect with civil society and grassroots-driven initiatives that focus on digital rights, AI literacy, and community-centered innovation. These actors bring grounded perspectives that are often missing from formal governance spaces.

Different stakeholders should be engaged as co-creators rather than passive participants. Governments can contribute by aligning national priorities with global frameworks and committing to implementation pathways. The private sector should provide transparency on AI systems, share best practices, and support responsible innovation. Civil society and grassroots organizations can bring lived experiences, highlight rights-based concerns, and ensure accountability. Academia and technical communities can contribute evidence-based research and independent evaluation. To enable meaningful participation, the Dialogue should adopt a multi-layered structure. This could include high-level plenaries for political alignment, thematic working groups for in-depth discussions, and regional tracks to reflect contextual realities. Dedicated spaces for youth and civil society engagement are essential.

Global AI governance discussions continue to underrepresent voices from the Global South, particularly grassroots communities, rural populations, and marginalized groups who are often most affected by technological change but least involved in shaping it. African stakeholders, including local innovators, civil society actors, and policymakers, remain insufficiently represented in global norm-setting spaces. Linguistic diversity is another major gap. Many discussions are dominated by a narrow set of global languages, limiting participation from communities whose perspectives are critical to inclusive AI development. Similarly, youth, informal sector workers, and communities with limited digital access are often excluded despite being significantly impacted by AI-driven transformations.

One effective approach is the use of scenario-based policy labs, where stakeholders collaboratively explore real-world AI governance challenges such as misinformation, algorithmic bias, or digital exclusion and co-develop practical solutions. These simulations can bridge the gap between theory and implementation. Deliberative forums such as citizen assemblies or mini-publics can provide structured ways to include public perspectives, especially from underrepresented groups. These formats strengthen legitimacy and public trust. Digital platforms can further enhance participation through asynchronous engagement, allowing stakeholders to contribute across time zones and contexts. Interactive tools such as live polling, collaborative documents, and open consultations can support broader input.

A notable example of a comprehensive approach to AI governance is Kenya's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2025-2030), which provides a structured, multi-stakeholder framework for responsible AI development. The strategy emphasizes three core pillars: AI digital infrastructure, data ecosystems and governance, and AI research and innovation, supported by cross-cutting enablers such as ethics, skills development, and financing. Kenya's approach is particularly effective in integrating governance within existing legal and regulatory systems, including the Data Protection Act (2019) and sector-specific guidelines. This hybrid model combines innovation-friendly policies with safeguards for rights, privacy, and accountability, reflecting a "trustworthy AI" approach grounded in transparency and human oversight. In addition, the development of technical standards such as the KS 3007:2025 Code of Practice demonstrates a practical effort to operationalize ethical AI principles across the lifecycle of AI systems. These standards are increasingly being embedded into procurement and regulatory processes, offering a pathway from soft law to enforceable mechanisms. Kenya's broader digital governance ecosystem has also received global recognition. In 2025, the country was ranked the top performer in ICT regulation in Africa by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), reflecting the strength of its regulatory environment in fostering innovation, inclusion, and competition.