Part of The Big AI Debate: Africa’s Outlook Series

Africa faces a unique set of scientific and developmental challenges such as endemic and emerging diseases and the growing impacts of climate change on food security. Traditional scientific approaches, while foundational, are often resource-intensive and time-consuming. Artificial Intelligence offers an opportunity to change this trajectory, enabling rapid pattern detection, prediction, and optimization that can accelerate scientific discovery, particularly in resource-constrained environments.

This second webinar, part of The Big AI Debate: Africa’s Outlook series will explore how existing science labs and research networks across Africa can effectively integrate and leverage AI to address some of the continent’s most pressing scientific challenges.

The discussion will highlight practical applications such as AI’s role in drug discovery for African-prevalent diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases as well as innovations in diagnostics and environmental modeling.

The conversation will underscore why African researchers are uniquely positioned to lead in this space. As global competition intensifies in frontier AI research, there is a growing risk that innovation could be shaped predominantly by Global North priorities. African scientists bring essential local expertise, diverse data contexts, and community-grounded perspectives that can ensure AI-driven science remains inclusive, ethical, and relevant to Africa’s development realities.

The session will also tackle critical challenges accompanying AI adoption, such as data poverty, algorithmic bias, ethical governance, and infrastructure gaps, while charting pathways for responsible and equitable AI integration across African research ecosystems.

What to Expect

  • Understand the context of the continent’s most pressing scientific challenges where AI is uniquely positioned to drive breakthroughs beyond traditional methods.
  • Practical insights from leading labs and research networks showcasing how AI tools are already transforming scientific workflows
  • A discussion on the ethical, technical, and infrastructural barriers shaping AI adoption in African science, including data governance, algorithmic bias, and digital access.
  • Learn what’s needed to strengthen Africa’s AI research and innovation ecosystem.
     

Speaker Line-up

  • Assoc. Prof. Jonathan Shock-Interim Director, UCT AI Initiative
  • Prof Joseph Muliaro Wafula-Lead Scientist, Africa Open Science Platform (AOSP)
  • Dr. Shikoh Gitau- Chief Executive Officer, Qhala
  • Dr. Fitsum Assamnew Andargie-Director, Resonance AI4D lab- Addis Ababa University
  • Selam Abdella-Researcher, Global Center on AI Governance

Webinar Details
📅 Date: 4 December 2025
🕒 Time: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM SAST
🔗 Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/g1jAc-ZfRUS-cdpUCM3cfg