Data access essential for implementing AU’s Continental AI Strategy
PICTURE: Jeswin Thomas/Pexels
African Alliance for Access to Data
Members of the alliance have penned detailed suggestions for the African Union Commission (AUC) efforts to advance its AI strategy. The recommendations are for the draft Implementation plan for the AUC’S Continental AI Strategy.
The points cover how AI-critical features of data, and especially access to data and Open Science, can best be recognised in the Implementation plan.
The Alliance welcomes the plan’s recognition of the importance of promoting datasets, and data policies and strategies, to facilitate data access and sharing for AI. Further welcomed is the plan’s goal to ‘Raise awareness and encourage accessibility of public and private data for AI models’.
The Alliance submission states: ‘AI without data is like having a vehicle without fuel.’ And it adds: ‘The international nature of the AI tech stack makes it difficult for Africa to engage in the manufacture of computer chips and massive data centres, but the continent does have opportunities to leverage data for the levels of training and applying AI for continental purposes.’
Amongst the specific suggestions by the Alliance are these:
- The implementation plan can profitably include text to the effect of: ‘Reinforcing the human right to information, introduce or revise access to information law and regulation in order to enhance the availability of public interest data in both the public and private sectors‘. The submission argues that without this point, the implementation document will miss a highly significant lever for executing the Continental AI Strategy
- Wording to ensure the importance of promoting access to African data sets including those held outside the continent, as well as to globally available data sets, that in turn can contribute to designing AI tools for solving development problems
- Supplementary text to show the centrality of data access for researchers, and as an input for structuring media and information literacy and monitoring information integrity (as is also recognised in ACHPR Resolution 630)
The Alliance also comments on the plan to ‘Establish a regional instrument to guide data sharing and exchange and cross-border data transfers for AI in line with the Malabo Convention and AU Data Policy Framework’.
The submission points out there are current processes underway to establish African normative standards to fulfil the mandate of ACHPR resolution 620 on promoting and harnessing data access as a tool for advancing human rights and sustainable development in the digital age.
The Alliance therefore suggests to add this instrument to the two already referenced.
The submission further notes: ‘There is potential for AI to advance [Open] Science – and for Open Science principles to influence the direction of AI development, particularly to ensure scientific reproducibility, credibility and trustworthiness.’
It recalls ‘concern with the current trajectory of AI development centred around closed models largely developed (and funded) by a narrow swathe of stakeholders – e.g industry’. There are also emerging scholarly concerns regarding AI-assisted research, ethics and research integrity.
The submission therefore urges the implementation plan to promote creation of fair data repositories, and creation of robust sectorial African data assets as the basis of African-relevant AI solutions
The Alliance also indicated its availability as ‘a deep knowledge resource interested to co-operate further in the detailed roll-out of the Plan once it is finalised’.
