Case Studies on AI Skills Capacity-building and AI in Workforce Development in Africa

The Mapping AI for Development in Africa (AI4D) project is a response to the research agenda for the ethical and equitable application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Global South proposed in the IDRC whitepaper,“Artificial Intelligence and Human Development”.The project conducted case studies on AI deployment across the African continent,and the associated policy and governance implications.It explored AI in relation to four thematic areas – biometric identity,computer vision and surveillance,skills capacity and workforce development,and gender.This report covers the Skills Capacity-building and Workforce Development theme.Research for each thematic area began with a broad mapping exercise to search for examples of AI initiatives across Africa,followed by deeper analysis of a selection of the identified examples.The themes were examined in terms of the potential contribution of AI systems to public service delivery specifically and socio-economic development generally,the challenges AI systems present for African countries,and the role of both public and private sector actors.