Africa demands a say in global AI safety standards

At a UN Security Council meeting, African leaders called for an equal role in shaping global AI standards and ethics. Experts warn that countries across the continent are deploying US and Chinese AI systems without the ability to independently test their safety, and fewer than half of African nations have AI policies.

• Fewer than half of African countries have AI policies or strategies
• Kenya is the only African nation in an international AI safety evaluation network
• 80% of 85 large African firms run AI pilots without formal safety oversight
• Experts propose judging AI harm relative to each country's economy size