Artificial Intelligence and the Law: An African Perspective

A few countries are leading the race to regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI). For the rest, policy and regulatory developments create a varied picture, with some countries simply absent. The EU AI Act is about to become law, the world’s first comprehensive law to regulate the development and deployment of AI. How will this affect the rest of the world, including Africa? What is happening in Africa? Is it possible to bridge the digital divide and address other significant issues like climate change, enhancing democracy, and ensuring access to quality education through the application of responsible AI?

Dr Dirk Brand is an independent legal consultant, special counsel at Swart Law and an Extraordinary Senior Lecturer at the School of Public Leadership, Stellenbosch University. He is part of the LegalAIzers team who won the First St Gallen Grand Challenge in Switzerland on the application of the EU AI Act (July 2023).