Toward an African Agenda for AI Safety

2025-08-12

AI Summary

Africa faces distinct AI safety risks—including deepfake-driven electoral interference, data colonialism, acute computational resource constraints, labor market disruption, and disproportionate climate externalities—while remaining systematically underrepresented in global AI governance and lacking indigenous AI safety institutions. Method: This study presents the first systematic risk mapping of AI safety challenges across Africa and proposes a five-pillar action framework: (1) establishing an African AI Safety Institute; (2) developing a multimodal AI risk early-warning and assessment system supporting 25+ African languages; (3) integrating human rights safeguards and policy impact analysis; (4) designing multilingual AI safety benchmark suites; and (5) instituting a public AI literacy–early warning coordination mechanism. Contribution/Results: The framework advances Africa-centered AI safety governance, informs the institutionalization of the African Union’s annual AI Safety Forum, and catalyzes regional collaboration networks—significantly enhancing Africa’s representativeness and influence in global AI safety discourse.

Technology Category

• Philosophy and Ethics of AI: Safety, Robustness & Trustworthiness
• Natural Language Processing: Safety and Robustness
• Humans and AI: AI for Accessibility

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Security and privacy of machine learning and AI applications
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Fairness and ethical considerations in crowd work and in human-in-the-loop AI systems
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy

Abstract

This paper maps Africa's distinctive AI risk profile, from deepfake fuelled electoral interference and data colonial dependency to compute scarcity, labour disruption and disproportionate exposure to climate driven environmental costs. While major benefits are promised to accrue, the availability, development and adoption of AI also mean that African people and countries face particular AI safety risks, from large scale labour market disruptions to the nefarious use of AI to manipulate public opinion. To date, African perspectives have not been meaningfully integrated into global debates and processes regarding AI safety, leaving African stakeholders with limited influence over the emerging global AI safety governance agenda. While there are Computer Incident Response Teams on the continent, none hosts a dedicated AI Safety Institute or office. We propose a five-point action plan centred on (i) a policy approach that foregrounds the protection of the human rights of those most vulnerable to experiencing the harmful socio-economic effects of AI; (ii) the establishment of an African AI Safety Institute; (iii) promote public AI literacy and awareness; (iv) development of early warning system with inclusive benchmark suites for 25+ African languages; and (v) an annual AU-level AI Safety & Security Forum.

Problem

• Mapping Africa's unique AI risks like electoral interference and data colonialism
• Addressing Africa's exclusion from global AI safety governance debates
• Proposing an action plan including an African AI Safety Institute

Innovation

• Establish African AI Safety Institute
• Develop early warning system for languages
• Promote public AI literacy awareness