Kick-starting a new African AI, ethics and digital inclusion organisation

Building on insights from a training course, a group of civil society members and journalists have come together to set up a new regional AI ethics and digital rights organisation in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Southern African Digital Inclusion Alliance (SADIA) grew out of a dual-track training course equipping journalists with knowledge and skills to navigate the challenges of covering AI and digital rights stories. It also sought to enhance CSOs’ capacity to effectively communicate and advocate on AI and digital rights issues and strengthen relationships between the two groups. This was hosted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa in October 2024. The training focused on AI ethics and digital rights and brought together journalists and civil society organisations operating in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

A growing digital divide

John Tshinseki, President of the Zambian Cyber Security Initiative Foundation and Wendy Jasson da Costa, Chief Reporter at the South African Independent on Saturday, are the co-founders of SADIA.

They joined the training course because they were concerned that countries in their region lacked an AI adoption and governance strategy. John remarked that they wanted “to make sure no one in Africa was left behind in this rapidly evolving digital age.” Both believed that a key barrier to ethical AI adoption in African countries was the presence of a digital divide, an unequal access to the internet, as well as lack of knowledge around cybersecurity, digital rights and the human rights impacts of AI.

Despite the African Union launching a continental strategy on AI in July 2024, its influence on union members is limited as it is not publicised widely enough – most African countries are yet to adopt national AI strategies. Moreover, an estimate of only 39 African countries have their own data protection laws, regardless of the existence of the AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection.

Inspired to create change

The Foundation delivered a training course aimed at equipping journalists with the essential skills and knowledge to navigate the challenges related to covering AI and digital rights-related stories. The training aimed to raise awareness of the human rights risks associated by AI and introduced mitigation measures that could be implemented to ensure that AI systems comply with the respect, protection and promotion of human rights. It also focused on developing advocacy strategies that civil society organisations can adopt in order to spearhead the adoption of AI laws and policies in their countries.

John and Wendy were inspired to join forces at the training. They exchanged ideas and concerns with other participants, including experts and representatives from CSOs from Sub-Saharan Africa, giving them a broader perspective on AI ethics, data and digital rights in Southern Africa.

We built networks, we shared ideas and then we started a movement that we hope will transform lives and really shape the future of digital literacy and AI in Africa.

WJ

Wendy Jasson da CostaChief Reporter at the South African Independent on Saturday & SADIA Co-Founder

A new digital rights organisation for Southern Africa

Following the course, John and Wendy rallied together with their fellow participants to brainstorm possible solutions to the issues they’d raised. They landed on the initiative to kick-start a new, regional AI ethics and digital rights organisation called the Southern African Digital Inclusion Alliance (SADIA), with the goal of bridging the digital divide in the region by “providing equitable access to technology and building digital skills in under-served communities”.

TrustLaw, the Foundation’s pro bono network, has connected the participants with a leading African law firm, Bowmans, to provide legal support. This support will involve advice on how the entity can be registered and reviewing SADIA’s draft constitution.

SADIA aims to hold regular webinars and publish weekly articles on AI and digital rights news in various Southern African countries. It will share learnings and experiences from across the region to assist other countries to develop national AI strategies. It also aims to increase efforts to build a digitally inclusive continent by creating digital access hubs and bringing together people from different communities, especially local women. The organisation hopes that through its work, women will embrace the benefits of AI, especially those who have been disadvantaged by technological change.

The aim [of SADIA] is to work in seven countries, in villages in each of those seven countries, to create digital hubs and ensure that no one in Africa is left behind in this rapidly evolving digital age.

WJ

Wendy Jasson da CostaChief Reporter at the South African Independent on Saturday & SADIA Co-Founder

This work is part of the Foundation’s wider partnership with The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation on the ‘AI Ethics, Data and Digital Rights Accelerator’. This brings together journalists, newsrooms and CSOs working in the fields of AI and Data and Digital Rights (DDR) across Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Through a series of multi-stakeholder trainings, participants connect with tech leaders to explore the opportunities and human rights risks associated with the rapid development of AI across their region.