In African deployments, there is often pressure to launch rapidly, without thorough contextual testing. But skipping this step is where trust breaks down—and harm begins. Testing must happen with communities, not just on them.
This stage examines the opportunity to reflect on how power operates in AI: Who gets to say if it works? Who can question it? Who can stop it?
The African AI & Equality Toolbox is a strategic initiative designed to empower African stakeholders—policymakers, technologists, civil society actors, and communities—to shape Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems that are contextually relevant, inclusive, and grounded in human rights.
Developed by Women at the Table and the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), and adapted from the global AI & Equality Human Rights Toolbox Initiative in collaboration with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), this African iteration provides practical tools and methodologies to guide equitable AI development across the continent.
The Toolbox applies a Human Rights-based AI Lifecycle Framework, integrating reflective questions and the Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) developed with the Alan Turing Institute. It emphasizes participatory, multidisciplinary approaches and is rooted in feminist, decolonial, and Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) principles and incorporates lessons from emerging digital rights challenges, ensuring AI systems are designed with safety and dignity at their core.
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