Africa has a unique opportunity to pioneer an agile, ethical and principle-based approach to AI law that will guide its nations for generations to come. It’s time for us to seize this opportunity and take a leading role in the global AI community.
AI will have a significant impact on humanity
Globally, AI is ubiquitous. The picture that’s painted is of a technology that will fundamentally change the world. Leading experts say it will disrupt almost every imaginable industry. Other experts even call it “the new electricity”. What’s evident is that this technology will have a significant impact on humanity.
The impact will be beneficial, but it could also be harmful. Let’s consider its current impact. AI has provided significant breakthroughs from vaccines, autonomous vehicles, language processing to quantum computing. However, there are several instances where it has already performed actions or made decisions that harm humanity. For example, AI trained on datasets containing racial or gender bias has unfairly discriminated against certain groups of people. It has also severely affected marginalised groups of people. Hence, there’s been a call for AI law.
We need AI law to protect Africans
Africa’s highest decision-making body, the African Union, has called for AI law to manage the benefits of the technology for Africans and navigate its risks.
Some continental countries have already started thinking about regulation. In South Africa, the government has established the President’s Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (PC4IR). The Commission will investigate how the technology will benefit the country and advise regulatory bodies on AI law. Further, Botswana, Egypt, Mauritius, Tunisia, and Zambia have also adopted national AI law strategies.
Some African nations have already created AI law. Let’s look at a few examples.
- Senegal launched initiatives to create a regulatory and policy framework for AI start-ups. “The ‘Start-up Act’ legitimizes Senegal’s Digital Strategy and made the country the second in Africa (after Tunisia) to pass AI start-up legislation.”
- While some of the laws don’t apply to AI only, they are useful. For example, Kenya’s new data protection law places restrictions on how companies can use the technology to handle, store, and share personal data. Similarly, South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) regulates automated decision-making (the process of deciding by automated means without any human involvement).
You can see that Africa has made steady progress. However, the risk is that regulation could be haphazard. So, how can Africa adopt a uniform approach to AI law?
The start – an African Commission on AI
We need a commission that will lead Africa in dealing with AI. It should focus on the ethical, legal, and socio-economic aspects of AI. Further, the members of the Commission should be representatives from each African country.
The decision-makers must be legal and technology experts; the prize would be dually qualified individuals.
In making decisions, Africans need to be at the centre of the Commission’s considerations.
Moreover, it should consider Africa’s role as a key competitor in the global AI market.
The Commission must also develop principles to guide African nations in creating policy and laws.
The principles should lay the foundation for AI that Africans can trust.
In developing the principles, the Commission should consider international lessons from other jurisdictions, such as the EU’s Guidelines for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. However, it must ground the lessons in African constitutional jurisprudence (philosophies of law).
Next – how should we draft AI law?
Across the world, several nations are grappling with how to draft AI law. The reason is that it’s an advanced and dynamic technology. There’s also the difficult task of balancing human rights against technological advancement. Plus, regulators need to navigate the power asymmetries between consumers and technology companies (Big Tech).
We believe the practical approach to regulation is agile, principle-based laws couched in plain language. In other words, we need a few laws that people and organisations know, understand, and with which they can comply. This approach would cover advances in technology and an awareness of human rights. An excellent example of principle-based legislation is South Africa’s POPIA.
For more guidance, see our page on Artificial Intelligence law.
