Our Research Agenda
Effective Ai governance requires deep understanding of implementation contexts, starting with the recognition that Africa plays a central role in global Ai supply chains.
Foundational Research
Research Area | Key Focus | Primary Outputs |
African Ai Governance Mapping | Systematic review of national policies, regional frameworks, and implementation gaps across African countries | Policy gap analysis, implementation capacity assessment, harmonisation recommendations |
Data Governance & Sovereignty | Indigenous data control, cross-border data flows, infrastructure barriers affecting African Ai development | Community data frameworks, open data guidelines, sovereignty protection mechanisms |
Ai & Digital Colonialism | Congo, and value extraction patterns by foreign tech companies, dependency relationships, beneficiation models | Equitable value distribution policies, technology agreement guidelines, community benefit frameworks |
Human Rights & Ethics
Research Area | Key Focus | Primary Outputs |
Human Rights & Social Impacts | Ai discrimination, surveillance, privacy protections, inequality impacts across essential sectors | Rights-based governance frameworks, anti-discrimination standards, vulnerability assessments |
Gender, Labour & Ai Governance | Women’s disproportionate impact from automation and agorithmification, click work exploitation, informal economy protection | Gender-responsive frameworks, worker protection standards, inclusive reskilling guidelines |
Algorithmic Discrimination | ML systems’ inherent bias limitations, right to human decision-making in equality-sensitive contexts | Legal boundaries for Ai use, “right to human decision” frameworks |
Sector Focus
Critical Sectors
- Health – Clinical Ai integration, data privacy, liability frameworks
- Education – Pedagogical impacts, workforce skills, local educational continuity
- Climate, Agriculture & Environment – Sustainable farming, climate adaptation, biodiversity protection
- Justice & Public Administration – Legal aid Ai, smart courts, administrative process automation
- Digital Identity & Biometrics – ID system governance, surveillance prevention, rights protection
- Surveillance and Law Enforecement – policy and governance questions
Emerging High-Risk Areas
- Ai & Cybersecurity – Critical infrastructure threats, deepfakes, information integrity
- Generative Ai & LLMs – Local language models, bias mitigation, linguistic and cultural representation
- Military Ai & Continental Security – Autonomous weapons governance, peacekeeping Ai, regional coordination
Cross Cutting Themes
Applied across all research areas
- Digital Sovereignty & Value Retention
- Development-Oriented Governance
- Gender & Social Inclusion
- Infrastructure & Capacity Constraints
- Regional Coordination vs National Sovereignty