From 26 to 28 July, Ipar took part in the National Consultations workshop for young experts, key players, activists, researchers and AI systems professionals in Senegal on the theme of "Mapping the practices, research and expertise of young users of Artificial Intelligence systems and mobilising their expertise for ethical regulation of AI uses", organised by UNESCO and Polaris Asso in Saly.
As part of UNESCO's implementation of the McGovern project in Senegal, research and analysis activities are being carried out with a view to producing a national report on AI systems in Senegal.
This report will draw on the results of the AI Readiness Assessment, based on the UNESCO Assessment Methodology (RAM), and will reflect the results of the national multi-stakeholder consultations that will be organised as part of this report.
The aim of the report will be to inform the country's overall national AI strategy and provide a factual framework on the ethical governance of AI, with short and long-term priorities identified, and using the Recommendation on AI Ethics as a blueprint.
The aim of this consultation with young people was to facilitate the production of this report on the national assessment of AI systems in Senegal.
More specifically, the consultation was designed to :
- Facilitate the work of a multidisciplinary national steering committee that will oversee the implementation of the project on the government's side;
- Facilitate the deployment of RAM, in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the development potential of AI, the state of the art in the country in terms of institutional and regulatory readiness, as well as the regulatory and institutional gaps that need to be filled in order to turn potential into action; Prepare a diagnostic report based on the results of the RAM exercise ;
- To facilitate discussions leading to the identification of the needs, concerns and political priorities of young people.
The results of the consultation led to recommendations coming from young people and adapted to the contexts, which will facilitate social acceptability and the appropriation of all stakeholders with regard to the challenges of AI ethics in Senegal and the region.
In addition, the data to be collected will also provide the information base needed to develop an AI strategy based on ethics and respect for human rights.
This activity of consulting young people on the state of play will accompany all the components of future interventions, and to do this, it must be based on empirical and concrete realities.
Following the IPAR's participation in the various workshops on the MCTEN's AI strategy, this consultation workshop gave the IPAR the opportunity to present its various projects relating to AI and the use and production of responsible data, in particular GRAIN, DUA, CLIMB and AGRIDATA, and to contribute to the drafting of recommendations on gender and the ethical and legal aspects of AI.
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