Khaled GHEDIRA
Vice-Chair of the African Scientific Research and Innovation Council
Question: The African Scientific Research and Innovation Council works at regional and continental levels, while African members of the network participate through specific countries and institutions. How should these roles complement one another, and how can African countries contribute to and benefit from the network?
AI capacity building in Africa must be built on strong collaboration across the local, national, regional, and continental levels. The African Scientific Research and Innovation Council (ASRIC) provides the continental framework by bringing together more than 40 member academies and scientific institutions, creating direct links with universities, research centers, national academies, researchers, educators, and students across Africa.
These different levels should play complementary roles. National institutions and African network members are best positioned to identify local priorities, implement AI education and research programs, and develop solutions tailored to their countries' needs. At the continental level, ASRIC can facilitate coordination, promote the exchange of best practices, mobilize partnerships and resources, and scale up successful initiatives to maximize their impact across the continent.
Among ASRIC's flagship initiatives in AI capacity building is the training of teachers, which serves as a powerful multiplier. By developing an initial cohort of instructors from different African countries, a relatively modest initial investment can be transformed into a much broader and sustainable capacity for AI education across the continent.
The future should not reproduce an old division of labor in which a few countries innovate, others regulate and the rest of the world consumes. The network should enable all countries to co-create, co-govern and share the benefits of AI. AI education must therefore extend beyond specialist teachers and university students to the wider young generation, establishing the human foundation for Africa's long-term participation in global AI development.
