Democratic AI Governance: Framing a vision for Africa in view of the EU experience

Democracy is, centrally, a system of making collective decisions on matters of public concerns in a way that gives each individual a fair and equal opportunity of influence over decisions (Christiano and Bajaj 2024; Himmelreich 2024; Hirvonen 2023). This is materially realised by citizen participation and deliberation concerning the issues that are of political significance. Extrapolating this idea in the field of AI governance, this article seeks to explore how to instrumentalise this emerging landscape to further democratisation of AI, specifically in Africa. It critically examines the European approach, focusing on the EU AI Act (2024), and discusses on how to develop democratic AI governance within Africa, delving into the African Union (AU) AI Strategy (2024a, 2024b). While the EU AI Act, which prioritises ethical and responsible AI, introduces two individual rights, i.e. the ‘right to explanation’ and the ‘right to lodge a complaint’, it does not adequately address concerns surrounding participatory and deliberative democracy, for lacking any tool or mechanism that would pave way for the formation and reflection of the citizens’ views and preferences. Based on this finding, it is considered that African AI governance should move beyond mere governance of ethics, e.g. risk and quality assessment, conformity procedure and monitoring, and uphold the idea of enhancing citizens’ ability to participate in the key regulatory processes. It is ultimately suggested AU should promote creation of civic space(s), i.e. deliberative venue for the citizens’ engagement, within the framework of the recently endorsed AI Strategy.