Dr Kinfe Yilma visits Addis Ababa to address the governance of AI
Dr Kinfe Yilma took a dissemination trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from late December to early January.
Dr Yilma’s aim was to give lectures to and hold consultations with regional and national stakeholders based in Addis Ababa – the diplomatic capital of Africa.
The trip was planned in the wake of publication of his book, The Global Governance of AI (Routledge, 2025), and in anticipation of two special issues he is editing on the governance of AI in Africa to be published in Science and Public Policy (OUP) and Technology and Regulation.
AI and cybersecurity governance
He began his trip on the 20 December by giving a lecture on the intersection of AI and cybersecurity governance at an event co-organized by the Ethiopian Cybersecurity Association and Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The audience included officials and domain experts from different government departments, local and regional technology companies and civil society actors. He had been commissioned by the organizers to develop a policy brief on the topic of the lecture for the purpose of circulation among policymakers in due course. The lecture was followed by a panel discussion with panelists from the Ethiopian AI Institute, Information Network Security Administration, and other stakeholders from civil society and the private sector.
The event received some local news coverage, which can be read here.
AI and peace and security
Dr Yilma then had a consultative meeting with the Director of Peace and Security Division of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) (Commander Abebe Muluneh) and Director of the Security Sector Program (Mrs Nejat Abdulrahman). IGAD is an intergovernmental body in Africa with broad mandates, including digital security. The Peace and Security Division is specifically mandated to deal with matters relating to peace and security, including in the digital context. He had the opportunity to share his research on AI governance in Africa, including on IGAD member states. At the meeting, he was invited by the Director to develop a policy brief on the intersection of AI and peace and security from the perspective of IGAD. The policy brief will address the unique challenges that AI poses to the peace and security of IGAD member states, drawing upon international best practices. The Director promised to present and circulate the policy brief with IGAD member states and senior management.
The development of AI laws and policies
Dr Yilma followed this by meeting with the Director of Legal and Policy Affairs of the Ethiopian AI Institute (Mrs Hana Teshome) and her colleague to provide feedback on the draft AI legislation drafted. The Ethiopian AI Institute is the national regulatory body of AI, including with the mandate of leading the development of AI laws and policies. During the meeting, he had the opportunity to provide detailed and substantive input to the drafting team drawing on his research on AI governance. The drafting team promised to incorporate the input before sending the bill to the relevant government department for adoption.
Cybercrime prevention, investigation and prosecution
His final appointment was to give a lecture to senior officials and experts of the Ethiopian Information Network Security Administration (INSA) on ‘Cybercrime Governance: Global Trends & Approaches’. INSA is Ethiopia’s principal cybersecurity agency with a mandate, among other things, to draft cybersecurity laws and policies, lead cybercrime prevention and investigation nationally, and serve as the nation’s cyber command. The lecture drew on his research on AI governance and the implications for cybercrime prevention, investigation and prosecution.
After the lecture, Dr Yilma met with senior officials of INSA to discuss further collaboration on policy affairs. He has accepted a request from INSA leadership to provide expert input to the impending drafting of law on online safety and a national cybersecurity roadmap.
He says:
This trip was a great opportunity to share my ongoing research on law and technology, particularly on AI regulation, to policymakers and practitioners in Africa/Ethiopia. This will enable my research to have tangible impact on policymaking and open the door to further collaborations in the future. I am grateful to the School of Law leadership for making this trip possible through the Impact and Engagement Fund.
Taking place in Addis Ababa – the diplomatic capital of Africa – Dr Yilma’s dissemination visit is demonstrative of the quality and impact of his research. It also reinforces the School of Law’s reputation for producing scholarship that has genuine international reach.
Dr Yilma is a member of the Technology, Governance and Intellectual Property Law Group, the Centre for Law and Social Justice, and the Centre for Business Law and Practice. His book can be found here.
