University of Leeds scholars argue African AI strategies must be followed by binding governance arrangements

An editorial by K. Yilma and K. Wodajo, on how AI is governed in Africa was published online on 16 April 2026 by Oxford University Press as an open access article. It was accepted on 28 December 2025. The piece introduces a special section of the journal Science and Public Policy that is devoted to how artificial intelligence is governed in Africa.

The editorial looks at African policymakers, who in recent years have turned considerable attention to new and emerging technologies such as AI. That interest has shown up mainly through a run of national and continent-wide policy documents. It traces where AI governance initiatives across the continent came from, what form they take and how far they reach, offering conceptual background for the articles that follow in the special section.

On substance, the authors observe that recent policy efforts have stressed the opportunities AI offers for helping with the continent's many entrenched social and economic problems. As AI strategies have been adopted at continental and national levels, policymakers are increasingly looking at the need to manage AI risks. The editorial points out that, apart from a few states, these strategies have not yet been turned into legislation or other concrete governance measures.

The central argument is that strategies alone are not enough. Unless they are followed up with robust governance arrangements, the authors say, African policymakers would be settling for less than their counterparts in other regions.