The Media Rights Agenda on Monday called for the development and adoption of a comprehensive Pan-African framework on artificial intelligence grounded in human rights, democratic accountability, and inclusion. This was noted in a statement commemorating Africa Day.

The day is commemorated annually on May 25 to mark the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union) in 1963. The MRA said no African country has the resources or influence alone to address the growing challenges surrounding AI governance, regulation, deployment, and digital sovereignty.

It warned that Africa risked becoming merely a consumer of foreign-designed AI technologies without collective continental action.

MRA said AI expansion presents enormous opportunities for development but also serious threats to democracy, inclusion, culture, languages and African developmental priorities.

The MRA said AI was already reshaping journalism, governance, education, elections, healthcare, business, security and access to information across Africa and globally.

It added that AI governance must reflect Pan-African principles as the African Union advances plans for a continental AI strategy. According to the statement, AI can strengthen innovation, public service delivery, elections, knowledge access, and efforts to counter misinformation and disinformation across African societies.

MRA, however, warned AI could fuel mass surveillance, algorithmic discrimination, deepfakes, civic repression, public manipulation and threats to democratic participation. It urged governments, civil society groups, academics, journalists, technology experts and citizens to jointly develop a people-centred African AI governance structure.

It said the proposed framework should protect human rights, media freedom, privacy, data protection, transparency, accountability and inclusion of African languages and cultures.

MRA also advocated safeguards against algorithmic bias, promotion of ethical innovation, open public-interest data access and equitable access to AI technologies. It said there was a need to strengthen media and information literacy to help citizens identify misinformation and deepfakes, and to understand algorithmic systems.

The organisation warned Africa must avoid digital dependency and “data colonialism”, where foreign technology corporations exploit African data without accountability or economic benefits and called on the African Union to begin an inclusive process toward adopting an African Charter on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Rights.

MRA further urged African governments to ensure that AI regulations emerge from transparent, broad-based consultations involving youth, women, journalists, and persons with disabilities.

It noted that Africa Day offered an opportunity to reimagine the continent’s digital future around democratic resilience, inclusion, dignity and technological self-determination, reaffirming MRA’s commitment to collaborating with partners across Africa and globally to promote digital rights, media freedom and ethical technology governance. 

(NAN)