
Présentation (en anglais seulement)
Le Centre de recherche en droit, technologie et société et l'Initiative IA + Société présentent :
Even as artificial intelligence (AI) holds the promise of advancing economic growth, it stands the likely risk of aggravating inequality. This becomes more severe in contexts like Egypt, where inequality is multifaceted, and where both analog and digital divides feed into sharp developmental gaps. Challenges facing AI and inclusion are ample; in every component of the AI ecosystem - data, algorithm and infrastructure - lies a trigger for exacerbating inequality and potentially misinforming policies.
In this talk, Nagla Rizk will discuss challenges facing AI and inclusion in Egypt. She will talk about issues related to human resources, the enabling environment and infrastructure. She will zoom in on data issues as they are most pertinent today in light of COVID-19. For example, she provides cases of data limitations – what she calls ‘data blindness’ and ‘data blur’- which have excluded women and others from receiving state relief during the pandemic. Nagla Rizk argues that the struggle of Egypt’s vulnerable communities amidst the pandemic is one example highlighting the dire need for a sharp lens that finely captures all data pixels to properly inform inclusive development policies. She touches on rays of hope and suggests areas for future research on data, AI and inclusion in Egypt and the Middle East, with potential collaboration with global partners.
À propos de la conférencière (en anglais seulement)
Nagla Rizk is Professor of Economics and Founding Director of the Access to Knowledge for Development Center (A2K4D) at the American University in Cairo’s School of Business. Her research area is the economics of knowledge, technology and development, with focus on digital platforms, innovation, knowledge governance, business models and inclusive growth in the Middle East and Africa. Her recent work looks into the economics of data, AI and inclusion, with interest in gender and the future of work. Her recent publications include “Artificial Intelligence and Inequality in the Middle East” in The Oxford Handbook of Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and “The State of Open Data in the Middle East and North Africa” in The State of Open Data: Histories and Horizons. She founded the Open Data for Development Node for the Middle East and North Africa and is a Steering Committee Member of the Open African Innovation Research Partnership (Open AIR). She is Associate Member of the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Law, Technology and Society, Faculty Associate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Affiliated Faculty at Harvard Law School’s Copyrightx course and Affiliated Fellow of Yale Law School’s Information Society Project. She is member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the New Economic Agenda and the Executive Committee of the International Economic Association. She has a record of policy impact in the area of open source technologies and regulation of ride sharing in Egypt, and advocacy for the right to information. She taught at Columbia University, Yale Law School and the University of Toronto.