Research ICT Africa

On Nov 18th, Our #OpenStudio will feature Jamie Ann Fuller, a junior researcher at Research ICT Africa to present her research on #SouthAfrica's social grant system. Earlier this year, predictive optimization was introduced into South Africa's social grant system to detect and counter fraud. As a result, thousands (and counting) of the country’s most financially vulnerable have been mistakenly excluded from receiving their grant payment. This open studio unpacks the case study, explaining what went wrong and reflecting on a more productive use of AI. While while AI may be most alluring in the resource-constrained realities of developing countries, it is precisely in such contexts that it poses the greatest threat. Register and RSVP via https://lnkd.in/dYQUvTAC #CaseStudy #AISystems #PredictiveModelling #ResponsibleAI #SocialGrants #Optimization

We are just two days away! The Global South Alliance wil host its next open meeting on October 22, 2024, where grantees from the first cohort of the Datafication and Democracy Fund (DDF) will present their impactful research. The Datafication and Democracy Fund was launched this year to support organizations addressing challenges at the intersection of datafication and democracy in the #GlobalSouth. This session will feature vital insights from organizations across Africa, Latin America, and Asia, tackling issues like biometric datafication, data governance in elections, and child online protection. 🗓️ Date: 22nd October 2024 🕛 Time: 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM GMT Register here: https://lnkd.in/eC6zrWiZ #GlobalSouthAlliance #ParadigmInitiative

Many choose to frame #AI as a key economic driver for continental development. However, they often fail to consider the necessity of data access in its effective deployment ⏏️ The scarcity of reliable data leads to skewed AI outputs, laying fertile ground for misinformation and misrepresentation. Such problems are particularly evident in Africa, where a huge number of the population remain invisible as a result of uneven access, low internet penetration rates and poor digital uptake ↙️ In such a context, data serves as information for public good, in the same way the digital public infrastructure can function in the public interest. It can function as a tool for both commercial and public value creation, providing resources for trade, governance and more. But are policies and regulatory systems well-aligned to facilitate trans-border data flows, while still mirroring human rights frameworks? And even if they are, can such processes be achieved when half of the continent still suffers from the digital equality paradox? Elizabeth Orembo considers the necessity of leveraging regulatory instruments such as the African Digital Compact and the Global Digital Compact to engender digital transformation, address inequality and harmonise policy. Read the reflective piece below: bit.ly/4gw6li2

EVENT | Alison Gillwald and Dr Monica Kerrets-Makau meet today with multidisciplinary scholars from the Thunderbird School of Global Management to discuss the ICT sector in Africa, looking at organisational research on data and platform governance, information regulation and the value of meaningful connectivity.

READ | 💡 The T20 has published five new policy briefs containing recommendations from RIA researchers and partners on : - Equitable data governance - Demand-side data collection - Governance of digital public infrastructure - Governing computational infrastructure for just AI economies These evidence-based research outputs aim to inform the G20 agenda, and ultimately facilitate digital transformation, bringing humanity closer to the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Find the pieces below 🌆 🔗 https://bit.ly/3YhsObI Many thanks to RIA's valued partners and co-authors, who continue to push for human rights-based change and development. RIA authors include Alison Gillwald, Andrew Partridge, Dr. Andrew Rens and Jamie Ann Fuller. #G20 #T20 #DigitalTransformation

RIA's Executive Director Alison Gillwald, reflects on the recent adoption of Global Digital Compact and publication of the AI for Humanity report in this article by Tech Policy Press. "Unlike with traditional telecom, the [digital] divide is not only between those online and offline but between those who have the technical and financial resources to optimize access to the Internet and OTT era and those who are barely online, without the resources to realize the benefits of access, to improve their livelihoods, never mind innovate or contribute to the prosperity of nations." #digitaldivide #digitalgovernance #datagovernance #AI  

🖐🏽 I am pleased to share this translation glossary on digital policy I have compiled and coordinated, featuring the 6 official languages of the African Union (English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic and Swahili). I hope it will guide and facilitate the work of translators and content producers in this highly specialised field within the AU and Africa. I sincerely thank Belén Alvarez Montalbán, Emmanuel Mutai and Abdeljelil Larbi for their work, as well as Alison Gillwald and Naila Govan-Vassen for their trust and support, and Drew Haller for her assistance with editing. You can view and download it here 👇🏽 https://lnkd.in/dd6M7K-5

READ I The September Newsletter is out, offering a comprehensive overview of RIA's significant engagements and research outputs during the United Nations General Assembly and the Summit of the Future. 💡 This release spotlights the need to leverage multistakeholder cooperation as we work towards digital equality, meaningful access and more efficient global digital governance frameworks — all of which are vital to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Click the link below if you're interested in RIA's commentary on the Global Digital Compact, the Governing AI for Humanity Report, as well as a number of other policy briefs, blogs and events. 🖇️ 📗 https://bit.ly/47SuNXf #UNGA #SOTF #SDGs #GDC

READ | RIA's Elizabeth Orembo reflects on our recent engagement on governing data as a public good during the Summit of the Future and UN General Assembly hosted in collaboration with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa & the Global South Alliance. "To consider data as a public good, we move beyond individualised notions of data privacy and towards collective human rights frameworks that recognise the uneven distribution of data-related harms and opportunities across the continent. In this context, data emerges not merely as a tool for commercial value creation but as a crucial component of public interest value, with the potential to significantly impact education, healthcare, governance, trade and more," writes Orembo. https://lnkd.in/eKk3CNb3 #datagovernance #digitalgovernance #GlobalDigitalCompact #AfricanDigitalCompact

READ | Alison Gillwald speaks to TechCentral about the #GlobalDigitalCompact's compromises and opportunities, noting the removal of a solidarity fund for infrastructure and another to address digital inequality, as well as the other overlooked demand-side preconditions needed to support a digital economy. 📟 'Despite these compromises, the need for global governance structures “that will protect people from the [digital] harms” is so great that the consensus reached by the general council on the GDC is a “peg in the ground” from which further progress can be achieved.'