This essay examines how emerging technologies can address some of the continent’s most pressing challenges, including economic, environmental, social, and governance issues, and be a game changer for Africa’s development.
Leveraging AI and emerging technologies to unlock Africas potential
Brookings Institution
Based on a comprehensive analysis drawing from extensive research, web scraping, data mining and interviews with stakeholders, this regional report focuses on the evolving trends, opportunities, and challenges shaping the digital economy, the future of work and the related skills requirements in Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia.
New forms of work and platform work in the southern and eastern Mediterranean
European Training Foundation
During the past decade, there has been a significant focus on autonomous weapon systems (AWS) in legal and policy discussions on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the military domain. In recent years, however, awareness has been increasing of the fact that the military applications of AI are much broader.
Reading of the Week: Artificial intelligence and related technologies in military decision-making on the use of force in armed conflicts
International Committee of the Red Cross
The cost of capital (CoC) for renewable power generation technologies is a major determinant of the total price to purchasers of renewable electricity. Both reliable data, and a deep understanding of the composition of the CoC and its drivers, are therefore critical information. Crucially, even small differences in the CoC that are not properly accounted for can result in misleading cost calculations and lead to poor policy making.
The cost of financing for renewable power
International Renewable Energy Agencia
The World Energy Transitions Outlook outlines a vision for the transition of the energy landscape to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, presenting a pathway for limiting global temperature rise to within 1.5°C of pre-industrial levels and bringing CO2 emissions to net zero by mid-century.
World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023
International Renewable Energy Portal
During the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the launch of an $800 million initiative on Digital Transformation with Africa (DTA). DTA comes at a time when the African internet economy has been deemed “one of the largest investment opportunities of the past decade” and one that, despite setbacks from COVID-19, is on track to expand and further transform lives in the coming decade. The African Union’s (AU) Digital Transformation Strategy reflects growing political consensus that adopting digital technologies can create economic opportunities for Africa and the world. The market opportunity is clear: African governments are endeavoring to facilitate universal digital access for the 800 million Africans expected to be online by 2030, and an internet economy potential worth $180 billion by 2025.
Accelerating Africas Digital Transformation for Mutual African and U.S. Economic Prosperity
Wilson Center
The growing competition between the West and China over the chips manufacturing market is perceived as “the Cold War of the 21st century.” How does this technology struggle between the global blocs affect Israel, and what measures should Israel take?
The Chips Alliance: How will the Global Technology War Affect Israel?
The Institute for National Security Studies
This study on the state of the energy sector in Tunisia (including renewable energy) is based on the key premise that energy is not a profit-making commodity, but a right. The study argues that access to energy and its production are political questions in essence, rather than purely technical ones.
Towards a just energy transition in Tunisia
The Transnational Institute
Deceit and media manipulation have always been a part of wartime communications, but never before has it been possible for nearly any actor in a conflict to generate realistic audio, video, and text of their opponent’s political officials and military leaders. As artificial intelligence (AI) grows more sophisticated and the cost of computing continues to drop, the challenge deepfakes pose to online information environments during armed conflict will only grow.
Reading of the week: DeepFakes and international conflict
Brookings
During the Russo-Ukrainian war, the space domain has arguably been used in a more versatile manner than in any previous conflict, duly providing a major learning opportunity for Western countries. This Hybrid CoE Working Paper discusses how the space domain has been used and impacted during the ongoing war in Ukraine. The focus is on hybrid threats, tools and actors. The conclusions provide a comprehensive analysis of achieved and predicted impacts, including linkages between the space domain and other hybrid threat domains.
Reading of the Week: The space domain and the Russo-Ukrainian war. Actors, tools, and impact
The Hybrid CoE newsletter
Historically, African delegations have the lowest rates of women representation in forums on nuclear disarmament. Excluding women from security and disarmament forums is a drastic oversight and hinders development. Africa will benefit from the inclusion of more women in peace and security dialogues and can also use the peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology to promote women’s rights and their inclusion.
Africas Women and the Promotion of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Science and Technology
The South African Institute of International Affairs
The changing nature of the space industry, particularly through its NewSpace entrants is resulting in changes in business practices, and new funding sources and capitalization models, as well as gaps in awareness and understanding of export controls. NewSpace is not only changing the nature of the space industry, but also exacerbating existing missile proliferation risks and posing challenges for the effective implementation of export controls.
Newspace and the Commercialization of the Space Industry
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Industrialization is central to Africa’s development prospects. With its young labour force, abundant natural resources and fast-growing internal markets. Africa has the potential to become the next global frontier for industrial development. Africa’s development strategies, from the Sustainable Development Goals to Agenda 2063 and the African Union’s 2011 Action Plan for the Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa, all clearly identify industrial development as a foundation for inclusive growth, the creation of decent jobs and many other development goals.
Reading of the week: Africa Industrialization Index 2022
African Development Bank Group
Since the mid-2010s, North African countries have been pursuing what some observers have called a “return to Africa” (Dworkin, 2020). Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia have attempted to position themselves as major components of Europe Mediterranean-Africa infrastructure and supply chains corridors (Tanchum, 2020). The three countries are trying to act as bridges between Africa and Europe amid discussions on the evolution of the partnership between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU).
Digitalize To Industrialize: Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and the Africa-Europe Partnership
Policy Center
The COVID pandemic has brought into sharp relief Africa’s digital divide. COVID-induced lockdowns and restrictions on travel made it necessary for government and business meetings and conferences to be conducted virtually, via various online formats. Consumers bought online and, most importantly, schools and tertiary educational institutions moved their courses online.
Driving Digital Inclusion Within the AfCFTA Framework
The Mediterranean Dialogue
The digitization of data spurred on by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, presents the Southern African region with very real opportunities for developmental leapfrogging. This could alleviate historically imposed dependencies and fast-track post-COVID-19 economic recovery.
SADC Futures of Digital Geopolitics: Towards African Digital Sovereignty
The South African Institute of International Affairs
Between the late 1960s and mid-2010s, the Third Industrial Revolution brought microprocessors, personal computing, and the Internet that created an ecosystem that exponentially increased communication capabilities throughout the world. Computers went from expensive and hard to use, room-sized mainframe machines to inexpensive personal computers, beginning with the Commodore 64, and leading to handheld personal devices that contain more processing power than all their predecessors combined.
The Data Divide: How Emerging Technology and its Stakeholders can Influence the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Atlantic Council
Nuclear science and technology are expected to play an increasingly important role in Africa in the near future. Nuclear power, nuclear medicine, nuclear applications in agriculture and nuclear research are all expected to enhance development.
Africas Nuclear Future: Increasing the Participation of Women and Youth
The South-African Institute of International Affairs
Increased connectivity and the use of digital technology are unlocking innovative business models for trade and economic activities on the African continent. Yet, the real potential for large-scale job creation and inclusive growth lies in the diffusion of digital innovations from the lead firms to the rest of the economy. Social gaps in the use of digital services and spatial inequalities in digital infrastructure development are limiting this potential.
Reading of the Week: Promoting Innovation and Digital Transformation in the Infrastructure Technology in Africa
African Center for Economic Transformation
Africa is quickly becoming the new data frontier in the face of continued increase in the deployment of digital technologies. A proportionate data governance ecosystem is, however, still lacking. The available governance ecosystem is characterised by a lack of relevant institutions or in most cases non-functional institutions for effective data governance implementation.
Reading Of The Week: Responsible Data Governance In Africa Institutional Gaps And Capacity Needs
Centre For The Study Of The Economies In Africa
Approximately 20 million Kenyans are set to go to the polls to exercise their democratic right in the August 9,2022, general election. As is the case in several countries around the world, technology adoption is regarded in Kenya as an important way of improving the accountability and transparency of electoral processes that have previously been tainted by controversy and mistrust.
In Kenyas 2022 Elections, Technology and Data Protection Must Go Hand in Hand
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Solar PV is a crucial pillar of clean energy transitions worldwide, underpinning efforts to reach international energy and climate goals. Over the last decade, the amount of solar PV deployed around the world has increased massively while its costs have declined drastically.
Special Report on Solar PV Global Supply Chains
International Energy Agency
In comparison with other regions, such as Asia and Europe, Africa’s participation in the digital economy is relatively limited. However, the growing demand for e-commerce, combined with pandemic-related restrictions, has highlighted the significance of digitalization for the African continent. Perhaps more importantly, the pandemic has brought to light the deep digital divide that exists between developed and developing countries.
African Participation in WTO E-Commerce Negotiations: Policy Positions and Development Issues
The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA)
The potential for intra-African digital trade and e-commerce remains constrained by traditional restrictions such as logistical challenges, limited internet penetration and access to financial systems and those related to the management and governance of data.
The AfCFTA: unlocking the potential of the digital economy in Africa
Overseas Development Institute (ODI)
The livelihoods of rural communities depend primarily on the availability of and access to renewable resources, including water, land and living resources. These resources are components of ecosystems with complex and dynamic relationships. Holling (1973) and Gunderson (2000) have shown that these ecosystems have their own capacity or resilience to adapt to external pressures induced by humans and large-scale environmental changes.
Policy Brief - The importance of Riverine and Floodplain Fisheries for Livelihood Resilience in Africa
African Development Bank Group
Digital technologies are becoming an integral part of humanitarian responses and increasingly facilitate access to critical support in crises. At the same time, these digital tools are becoming intertwined with some of the humanitarian sector’s most enduring challenges, including that of inclusion. As well as ensuring assistance ‘irrespective of age, sexual and gender identity, disability status, nationality or ethnic, religious or social origin or identity’, inclusive responses are those that ensure not just equal rights but also participation in humanitarian action.
Digital Technologies and Inclusion in Humanitarian Response
Overseas Development Institute (ODI)
Solar PV is a crucial pillar of clean energy transitions worldwide, underpinning efforts to reach international energy and climate goals. Over the last decade, the amount of solar PV deployed around the world has increased massively while its costs have declined drastically.
Special Report on Solar PV Global Supply Chains
International Energy Agency (IEA)
This paper argues that peaceful uses of science, technology and applications have an important role to play in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Noting that the European Union (EU) is the biggest donor of development assistance, the paper suggests that the EU enhance its contribution to peaceful uses of nuclear science, technology and applications through supporting the IAEA's technical cooperation activities. This will contribute to delivering the EU's non proliferation goals, thus strengthening global human security.
Balancing the Three Pillars of the NPT: How can Promoting Peaceful Uses Help?
SIPRI