MARANGU: Safer Digital Spaces for Children in the AI Era

Policy and Strategy Specialist, Chemichemi Foundation Nancy Marangu/ HANDOUT

As the Africa Forward Summit begins, it is essential to appreciate the evolving dichotomy of Artificial Intelligence (AI) opportunities and challenges for the Africa child.

Whereas, the curiosity of African children is engineered towards discovery of Artificial Intelligence capabilities and proficiencies, online safety ought to be embedded during the AI design value chain. 

Therefore, addressing safer digital spaces for children should provide new opportunities and stimulate ethically-conducted research and innovation that anchor AI technologies in human rights and fundamental freedoms, values and principles, and moral and ethical reflection.

Artificial Intelligence technologies can be of great service to children in Africa countries and reduce digital divides, catalyze cultural, social or economic developments.

This can be attained through transparency and understandability of the workings of algorithms and the data with which they have to be trained; and their potential impact on, including but not limited to, human dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms, gender equality and disability mainstreaming.

Furthermore, the development of AI technologies require data, media and information literacy as well as access to independent, trusted sources of information, including as part of efforts to mitigate risks of misinformation and disinformation.

This will enable children develop both critical thinking, and analytical skills to distinguish credible information from misleading content in an evolving digital world.

Moreover, empowering children to engage safely and responsibly with AI-driven platforms, make informed decisions, and participate gainfully in society while safeguarding their rights and well-being digitally.

Consequently, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence highlights that a normative framework for AI technologies and its social implications finds its basis in international and national legal frameworks, human rights and fundamental freedoms, ethics, need for access to data, information and knowledge.

The freedom of research and innovation, human and environmental and ecosystem well-being, and connects ethical values and principles to the challenges and opportunities linked to AI technologies, based on common understanding and shared aims.

This implies that development, deployment, and governance of Artificial Intelligence should be anchored in human rights, inclusivity, transparency, accountability, and sustainability. It underscores the need for AI systems to advance social good for children.

The recommendation further emphasizes that governments, educational institutions, private sector actors, and civil society have a shared responsibility to ensure that AI technologies are designed and used to promote equitable access to knowledge and innovation among children, strengthen their digital literacy, safeguard children rights and provisions.

On the other hand, the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, underline that AI technologies can intensify tension around innovation, asymmetric access to knowledge and technologies.

This includes digital and civic literacy deficit that limits children’s ability to engage in topics related to AI, as well as barriers to access to information and gaps in capacity, human and institutional capacities, barriers to access to technological innovation.

These sprout forward pathways for investment in adequate physical and digital infrastructure and regulatory frameworks, including those related to data.

The continental investment will strengthen global cooperation and solidarity, through multilateralism, needed to facilitate fair access of AI technologies to children facilitating their access to all benefits that AI can bring, especially in the area of development.

In conclusion, AI ethics for the Africa child as a systematic normative reflection, ought to be based on a holistic, comprehensive, multicultural and evolving framework of interdependent values, principles and actions that can guide societies in dealing responsibly with the known and unknown impacts of AI technologies on human beings, societies and the environment and ecosystems.

Only this way will be the aspiration of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution UNEP/EA.7/Res.9 on environmental sustainability of artificial intelligence systems encapsulate a children centric perspective.