Tomorrow (20 March), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will convene its 1267^th session on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on Peace, Security and Governance in Africa at the Ministerial level.

Following opening remarks by Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates and Stand-in Chairperson of the PSC for March 2025, Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), is expected to make an introductory statement. Lerato Mataboge, the AU Commissioner of Infrastructure and Energy, who is responsible for the file of technology, is expected to make a presentation. It is also expected that Bernardo Mariano Junior, Assistant Secretary-general, Chief Information Technology Officer, UN Office of Information and Communications Technology (UNOICT).

The PSC held its first session on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on peace and security in Africa during its 1214th session on 13 June 2024 as part of its 20th-anniversary commemorations. The session underscored AI’s transformative potential for peacebuilding, including its applications in early warning systems, conflict prevention, and post-conflict recovery. Most notably, however, it recognised the risks associated with its rapid development in a regulatory vacuum. Speaking at a recent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting, UN Secretary-General António Guterres remarked, ‘Artificial intelligence has moved at breakneck speed. It is not just reshaping our world; it is revolutionising it. This rapid growth is outpacing our ability to govern it, raising fundamental questions about accountability, equality, safety, and security.’ Indeed, AI is reshaping the global security environment, with profound implications for governance, stability, and conflict dynamics.

The interest of the PSC in engaging with AI highlights its growing significance in Africa’s peace and security landscape. In Africa, AI adoption is accelerating, driven by the need for enhanced public service delivery, more effective conflict analysis, and improved governance systems. However, this rapid proliferation also presents significant challenges, including ethical concerns, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and the potential for misuse by both state and non-state actors. Against this backdrop, tomorrow’s PSC session is expected to explore both the opportunities and risks of AI, with a particular focus on its implications for peace and security in Africa.

In the outcome document of the previous session, the PSC stressed the importance of establishing a Common African Position on AI. Given that Africa is predominantly a consumer rather than a producer of AI technology, the session underscored the necessity of ensuring African perspectives in shaping global AI governance frameworks. Consequently, the PSC urged the AU Commission to fast-track the development of a Common African Position on AI, addressing its implications for peace, security, democracy, and development on the continent. Additionally, the PSC requested the AU Commission to conduct a study to assess the adverse impact of AI on peace and security. It is also to be recalled that the PSC previously requested a comprehensive study on emerging technologies during its 1097^th session.

Establishing the peace and security side of the implications of AI befits the mandate of the PSC. As the AU Commission follows up on these requests from the PSC, it is worth recognising and factoring in the various AU engagements on AI, such as the Continental AI Strategy and AUDA-NEPAD’s White Paper and Roadmap on AI governance. This is critical to ensure policy coherence while avoiding duplication of efforts. There are already concerns about coherence and alignment in the AU’s approach to AI governance in the context of the Continental AI Strategy and the AUDA/NEPAD White Paper, underscoring the need for the follow-up on the PSC’s request for developing a common African position to build on these existing policy works of the AU.

The Framework for the Continental AI Strategy, endorsed during the 44^th Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council, addresses peace and security in several sections, emphasising both the opportunities and risks AI presents. The document identifies peace and security as a priority sector where AI can have a transformative impact, particularly in conflict resolution, safety, and security, aligning with the AU’s Agenda 2063 aspirations. It also highlights AI governance and regulatory challenges, particularly in military applications, warning that AI could exacerbate conflicts through inaccurate predictions or deployment of autonomous weapon systems. Additionally, the framework raises concern about disinformation, misinformation, cybersecurity threats, and military risks, calling for the establishment of an expert group to assess AI’s impact on peace and security in Africa.

At its 1214^th session, the PSC also requested the AU Commission to establish a high-level advisory group on AI for governance and military applications, with a mandate to report every six months. It is and has to be understood that this is not different from the expert group that the AU strategy proposed. In response, the Department of PAPS released a Terms of Reference in February 2025 for the establishment of the AU Advisory Group on Artificial Intelligence and its Impact on Peace, Security, and Governance. Subsequently, on 6 March 2025, PAPS and the AU Infrastructure and Energy Department convened the inaugural meeting of the Advisory Group, bringing together experts from Africa’s five regions, representatives from PAPS, the AU Infrastructure and Energy Department, the United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology (UNOICT), and the co-Chair of the AU Network of Think Tanks for Peace (NETT4Peace). Therefore, in tomorrow’s PSC session, discussions are expected to follow up on this initiative, ensuring that the Advisory Group plays a strategic role in shaping AI governance, security, and policy implementation across Africa.

Various events, including the jamming of GPS systems affecting flights reported in Eastern DRC and the deployment by the Islamic State of West Africa of armed drones, highlight not only the need for effective regulation but also the existence of the requisite infrastructure and technical capacity. Thus, one of the issues that is of interest to members of the PSC during tomorrow’s session is the question of the kind of infrastructure and technical capability required both for mitigating the risks and harnessing the benefits of AI in peace and security.

While the AUDA-NEPAD White Paper and Roadmap do not have a dedicated section on peace and security, they emphasise AI’s role in governance, security, and conflict prevention, showcasing best practices that illustrate AI’s potential. AI serves as a strategic tool for peacebuilding, with applications in conflict prevention, combating disinformation, mediation, and counterterrorism. For example, South Africa’s ‘Shot Spotter’ technology, which detects gunfire to prevent urban violence, demonstrates how AI can enhance early warning systems by analysing social networks, media, and government reports to identify emerging threats and prevent crises. In this regard, the PSC at its 1247^th session has also emphasised the significance of further strengthening the institutional capabilities of the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS), particularly by integrating advanced AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics technologies.

AI also plays a role in conflict prevention and resource-driven disputes, as illustrated by Mali’s partnership with the Water, Peace, and Security (WPS) Partnership, which uses AI to predict and mitigate conflicts arising from water scarcity. This demonstrates how AI-driven early warning systems can be used to analyse socio-economic and environmental data for proactive conflict resolution. The AI-powered surveillance and security systems that are being employed in some countries for security by identifying threats and tracking criminal activities are susceptible to abuse and misuse of AI by non-state actors that designed the AI system. Therefore, the PSC needs to assess mechanisms for human rights-centered AI governance and regulatory frameworks, which is critical to prevent abuse of such technologies.

In disaster management and humanitarian aid, Rwanda and Tanzania’s automated drone delivery systems ensure the rapid delivery of medical supplies to conflict zones and remote areas, showcasing how AI can strengthen crisis response efforts. Similarly, Rwanda’s anti-epidemic robots, deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlight AI’s role in crisis management—a critical aspect of national security and emergency response.

Given AU’s experience with cyberattacks that disrupted its digital systems, another critical area of interest for tomorrow’s session is how to mitigate the vulnerabilities that the deployment of AI exposes to cyberattacks and how to harness its utility to fend off such attacks. AI plays a critical role in cybersecurity, enhancing threat detection, vulnerability assessments, and the protection of critical infrastructure. By analysing financial transactions and identifying irregular financial patterns, AI aids counterterrorism efforts by disrupting illicit funding channels, making it a valuable tool in the fight against terrorism and organised crime. In this context, the PSC is expected to examine strategies to build on recent commitments by member states to strengthen data protection and cybersecurity governance, particularly in light of the ratification of the AU Malabo Convention in June 2023. This discussion will be essential in advancing Africa’s cybersecurity framework and fostering a coordinated, continent-wide approach to securing digital infrastructure.

The expected outcome of the session is a communiqué. The PSC is expected to emphasise the need for a strategic approach to AI governance, ensuring alignment with relevant AU and UN frameworks. It may call on AU member states to strengthen national cybersecurity strategies in line with the AU Malabo Convention, implementing robust data protection laws and AI-driven cybersecurity tools. Additionally, the PSC may advocate for the development of an AU-wide regulatory framework on AI ethics, ensuring compliance with human rights standards while preventing mass surveillance and privacy violations. To promote policy coherence, the PSC is also expected to stress the importance of aligning the Common African Position on AI with existing continental AI initiatives, such as the Continental AI Strategy, AUDA-NEPAD White Paper, and AI Roadmap. Regarding AI’s role in peace, security, and governance, the PSC may urge the enhancement of the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) through the integration of AI-powered predictive analytics, machine learning, and big data analysis to improve conflict detection and response mechanisms. It may further call for greater investment in AI-driven disaster response solutions, ensuring AI is integrated into continental disaster risk reduction frameworks while also encouraging capacity-building initiatives that enable regional and national conflict prevention institutions to leverage AI for real-time data analysis and crisis response. The PSC may also emphasise the need for building a digital infrastructure and technical capability that are fit for and tailored to the development and security needs as well as socio-cultural specificities of Africa as necessary conditions for deploying AI in a way that maximizes its benefits and mitigates its risks. As for the newly established AU Advisory Group on AI, the PSC may encourage the group to harmonise recommendations from various AI policy documents and provide guidance on policy implementation across AU member states, ensuring a cohesive and well-coordinated approach to AI governance and security across the continent having regard to the needs of Africa and its position vis-à-vis the design and deployment of AI. The PSC may also call for stronger African representation in global AI regulatory and governance bodies, ensuring that African perspectives and priorities actively influence the development of international AI policies and standards.