African Union - Preliminary Working Framework for a Continental AI Strategy
Jurisdiction: African Union
Region: Africa
Issuing body: African Union Commission (AUC)
Publication date:
Document type: Framework
Current status: Published
Themes: Continental AI strategy, Digital infrastructure, Local language data, Data sovereignty
Summary: The African Union’s preliminary working framework for a continental artificial intelligence strategy aimed to reduce regulatory fragmentation across member states and define an AI roadmap aligned with African priorities. The framework emphasised local needs, including regional language datasets and measures to reduce bias from models trained primarily on non-African data. It also highlighted digital infrastructure as a precondition for responsible AI deployment, including electricity, broadband, and secure local capacity. The framework positioned continental coordination as central to governance, development, and technological sovereignty.
Key provisions: Continental AI strategy framework; coordination among member states; local-language datasets; mitigation of imported model bias; digital infrastructure priorities; attention to electricity, broadband, and native AI deployment capacity.
Official document:https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unescos-support-aus-continental-ai-framework-and-strategy
Related records: Rwanda — National Artificial Intelligence Policy; UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI; OECD AI Principles
Research notes:
Citation: African Union Commission, Preliminary Working Framework for a Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy, formulated throughout 2023.