Broadening Perspectives on African Governance in the Age of AI

The intensifying development of machine learning (ML) models and the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, particularly generative AI, has dramatically shifted practices around data, spurring the development of new industries and unveiling unprecedented forms of exploitation. These new complexities around the production, refinement, and use of data indicate severe implications for African countries, including the widescale spread of generative AI-driven disinformation, increased manipulation exacerbated by digital platforms, and the continuation of colonial-era marginalization through datafication practices. These concerns elevate a need for comprehensive and harmonized data regulation efforts across the African continent, given existing challenges with fragmented policy implementation and limited capacity for regulatory enforcement. This talk examines the burgeoning AI and data governance landscape in Africa, analyzing the impact of AI on democratic processes, outlining best measures for data governance policy reform, and delineating priorities to democratize African participation in global AI governance.

Bio
Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo is a fellow in the Center for Technology Innovation in the Governance Studies program at Brookings and a recent computer science Ph.D. graduate from Cornell University. Her research focuses on AI governance in emerging markets, AI literacy upskilling, human-centered approaches to AI explainability, the future of data work, and leveraging AI to advance global health.

At Cornell, Dr. Okolo’s dissertation research incorporated ethnographic methods to understand how frontline healthcare workers in rural India perceive and value AI. Her work also examined how explainability can be best leveraged in AI-enabled technologies deployed throughout the Global South, with a focus on healthcare. Outside of her dissertation focus, Dr. Okolo also conducted research examining the effective adoption and successful implementation of AI in Africa, COVID-19 misinformation spread on social networks within African communities, and the impact of generative AI within Africa.

Dr. Okolo’s research has been published at top-tier venues in HCI and sociotechnical computing (ACM CHI, CSCW, and COMPASS). Her work has been supported by funding from The National GEM Consortium, Oracle Corporation, the North American Network Operators’ Group (NANOG), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and Google and covered in venues like VICE, Bloomberg, Newsweek, The Washington Post, and VentureBeat, amongst others. She has been invited to share her work at industry research labs including Google Research India, Microsoft Research India, and the Microsoft Africa Research Institute (MARI). Dr. Okolo has also been recognized as a Trailblazer in Engineering, a Rising Star in Management Science & Engineering, and one of 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics™.

Dr. Okolo holds a B.A. in computer science from Pomona College, a M.S. in computer science from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in computer science from Cornell University. She also serves as a Consulting Expert with the African Union, contributing to the development of the AU-AI Continental Strategy for Africa, and as an Ethics Advisor to the Equiano Institute, a research lab focused on steering safe and trustworthy AI in Africa. Additionally, Dr. Okolo participates in the IEEE Standards Association working group on algorithmic bias and is a member of the ACM US Technology Policy Committee.