The duo says that it is anticipated that the work to be undertaken by the awardees from various countries in Africa will go some way toward responding to the complex questions regarding ethics and social impact. These have risen from the growing reliance on AI systems in Africa.

A total commitment from Facebook of $200 000 USD will be shared amongst the awardees. The HSRC says that, as the premier science council charged with understanding the social implications of change and development in Africa, it is well-positioned to coordinate the research being carried out by the awardees.

The awardees hail from eight different countries in Africa. The work of the research teams indicated hereunder will aim to:
  • stand the continent in good stead to understand the implications of AI
  • find ways in which to leverage this for socio-economic development, and
  • be able to better understand the risks and challenges that can be mitigated against.
The awardees include: 
  • Elefelious Getachew Belay (Ethiopia): Socio-Technical onsiderations for the design and development of AI in Africa
  • Radha Apadhyaya (Kenya): The ethics and social impact of automated mobile credit lending in Kenya
  • Thompson Chengeta (Zimbabwe): Re-examining the jus ad bellum — jus in bello dichotomy from an African freedom ethics perspective towards a comprehensive response to autonomous weapon systems
  • Samah Elsayed (Egypt): The Cairo charter — urban AI in Africa for social and environmental justice
  • Pross Oluka Nagitt (Uganda): Buying Ethical AI solutions for government: Why is ethical awareness in public procurement important in the deployment of ethical AI solutions in Uganda and Kenya?
  • Tom Peter Migua Ogada (Kenya): Artificial Intelligence or jobs: Which way forward for Africa
  • Adekemi Omotubora (Nigeria): What Value is in the Code? Human Rights by Design in AI Governance, and
  • Donrich Thalder (South Africa): Artificial intelligence in healthcare in South Africa
The HSRC and Facebook have indicated that they would like to extend their congratulations to all the awardees and look forward to working together to better understanding, from an African perspective, these fields of AI research.

For more information, visit www.hsrc.ac.za. You can also follow HSRC on Facebook or on Twitter.