What recent AI failures mean for Africa.
For students, engineers, data professionals, lawyers and public-sector staff. No AI safety background needed.
About the event
Recent AI safety incidents have turned abstract warnings into events with dates and consequences. This half-day briefing walks through what happened, what these cases reveal about risks from the most capable AI systems, and what they mean for Nigeria and the rest of Africa.
You'll hear from experts in AI governance and biosecurity, work through the questions in small groups, and leave with concrete ways to start working on AI safety yourself.
The case
AI failures are no longer hypothetical. Documented cases show systems behaving in ways their builders did not intend, and the stakes rise as these systems gain more autonomy.
Very few people working on these risks are based on the continent, so African contexts, languages and institutions are often missing from the research and the response.
Rules for advanced AI are being written in national capitals and international forums this year. Informed African voices can still shape what they say.
Programme
Wednesday 25 November · times in West Africa Time (WAT)
Why AI incidents matter for Africa.
What happened, and what these cases reveal about frontier AI risk.
AI risk, governance and biosecurity from an African perspective.
Facilitated conversations on what these risks mean for your field.
Courses, fellowships and PACFAIE programmes you can join.
Meet the speakers and other attendees.
Briefing and panel
Experts in AI governance, biosecurity and AI safety. Names will be announced here.
Audience
You don't need a background in AI safety. Curiosity and a willingness to engage are enough.
Exploring careers in AI, policy, law or the sciences.
Building or deploying AI systems and agents.
Working with models, data pipelines and evaluation.
Advising on technology, regulation and liability.
Shaping digital policy, procurement and regulation.
Journalists, researchers and civil society are welcome.
Registration takes a couple of minutes on a separate form. Attendance is free, and seats are limited to about 70.
This page doesn't collect any personal data. Your details go only to the registration form, which PACFAIE manages.
Your host
The Pan-Africa Center for AI Ethics is a Nigerian nonprofit working on AI governance, ethics and safety. We help Africans understand how AI is changing their societies and take part in deciding how it should be governed.
Our programmes have reached more than 1,500 people across 34 African countries.
FAQ
Yes. Attendance is free, but you need to register because seats are limited to about 70.
Yes. The briefing and panel will be recorded and shared afterwards.
The briefing is in person only. If you can't make it to Lagos, the recording will be shared afterwards.
Anyone interested in how AI risks affect Nigeria and Africa. It's designed for students, engineers, data professionals, lawyers and public-sector staff, and no prior knowledge of AI safety is needed.
The venue in Lagos will be announced on this page.