The GRAIN consortium (IPAR Think Tank, CSEA and Sunbird AI) is taking part in the first edition of the AfricAI conference, to be held from 12–14 June 2023 in Kigali. The conference aims to enable participants from AI communities and ecosystems across Africa to share knowledge and best practices drawn from diverse contexts and perspectives; to provide a platform for dialogue between the research community, the public sector and the private sector to build responsible and open AI ecosystems; and, finally, to forge new alliances and create opportunities for future collaboration.
The event is hosting around 150 participants from AI4D’s Africa programme and GIZ’s FAIR Forward initiative, including consortium partners, African AI researchers, grant recipients, AI practitioners and policy-makers.
The GRAIN network delegation will take part in and lead the following activities:
Panel: Political Issues Surrounding AI in Africa – Boosting Engagement Among African Decision-Makers
In order to place Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa at the heart of cross-cutting discussions on development issues, and to support policy change, the involvement and commitment of decision-makers must be supported by highlighting the importance of AI in everyday life and the challenges associated with this topic.
This panel discussion on the theme «Political Challenges of AI in Africa – Boosting Engagement Among African Decision-Makers» will provide an opportunity to learn more about the experiences of certain African countries in terms of regulations, legislation and usage, explore opportunities for collaboration and share best practices, whilst fostering a pan-African momentum for responsible Artificial Intelligence.
It will serve as a platform for discussions between policy-makers representing the African Union Commission and its member states, such as Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda and Benin, as well as experts, innovators and researchers, as well as other key AI stakeholders from French-speaking Africa, with the aim of securing two to three commitments from decision-makers in the region to adopt more inclusive, responsible and ethical AI policies, in line with a pan-African vision.
With the participation of Dr Laure Tall, Research Director at IPAR.
Interactive workshop: Mapping the network landscape for responsible AI and gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa
The GRAIN network is a decentralised and diverse network focused on responsible AI and gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa. The network aims to bring together established and local grassroots organisations committed to a common goal of promoting responsible AI and gender equality. The network operates under a shared governance model that emphasises open collaboration, contribution and knowledge-sharing. During this interactive workshop, participants will share their current networking activities and connections relating to responsible AI and gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa, identify challenges and constraints, and jointly map out the landscape of networking and knowledge-sharing. The workshop will conclude with the joint identification of three next steps to improve knowledge-sharing within the African responsible AI community.
The workshop will be led by Dr Laure Tall (IPAR Think Tank), Dr Ernest Mwebaze (Sunbird AI), Dr Adedeji Adeniran (CSEA) and Tabara Korka Ndiaye (IPAR Think Tank).
Panel: Sub-regional and continental dynamics: What are the challenges for responsible AI in Africa?
In Africa, AI can make a significant contribution to development, acting as a driving force for inclusive and sustainable growth. It can greatly enhance mobile payment platforms, business process outsourcing, the fight against poverty and inequality, and the provision of goods and services, whilst helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063: ‘The Africa We Want’. The continent, particularly given its young population, possesses real strengths for the development of AI and can play a role in the relevant debates (technological, ethical, etc.).
However, the development and use of AI systems is not without risk for African societies. African countries are struggling to cope with the development and use of AI, despite the existence and/or emergence of legal, political and institutional frameworks designed to regulate the rapid evolution of new technologies.
This panel will provide an opportunity to discuss the situation in certain French-speaking countries in West Africa, with a focus on the initiatives undertaken to address the issues, challenges and ongoing processes involved in developing a strategy to promote the responsible development of AI.
The session will be chaired by Dr Laure Tall.
Not so long ago, people lived and went about their daily lives in close-knit communities. Every shopkeeper knew their customers personally and could...
This Machine Learning Glossary aims to provide a brief introduction to the most important machine learning terms – both for commercial and...
FR 
EN 
