Humanitarian AI podcast series | Addressing governance gaps: perspectives from Nigeria and beyond

How can humanitarians engage responsibly with AI tools without clear governance frameworks?

Only one in five humanitarian organisations have formal AI policies despite widespread usage - creating a "governance vacuum." How can organisations develop robust AI governance when operating across diverse regulatory environments whilst AI regulation is still emerging?

In the third instalment of our six-part humanitarian AI podcast series, Timi Olagunju speaks to Ka Man Parkinson to discuss how humanitarian organisations can close this governance gap.

Timi Olagunju is a lawyer specialising in tech policy and AI governance, working at the intersection of law, technology, and development. He offers insights into the regulatory landscape affecting humanitarian AI adoption across Africa and globally.

In this conversation, Timi examines:

• Why AI literacy is the cornerstone of governance - not an afterthought
• How fragmented regulatory environments in Africa can create 'procurement paralysis' 
• Four principles for responsible AI deployment
• Practical guidance on data protection - treating data like cash
• Community questions on AI transparency, data protection challenges, regulatory gaps, and safeguarding strategies

Visit the episode webpage for shownotes including speaker bios, episode transcript and supporting links:

www.humanitarianleadershipacademy.org/resources/humanitarian-ai-podcast-series-addressing-governance-gaps-perspectives-from-nigeria-and-beyond

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The views and opinions expressed in our podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of their organisations.

Chapters

• 0:00 Chapter 00:00: Introduction
• 7:20 Chapter 2: AI literacy: the foundation of AI governance
• 17:13 Chapter 3: ‘Procurement paralysis’ from regulatory inconsistency across Africa
• 31:29 Chapter 4: Weighing up commercial AI tools use through a governance and security lens
• 48:53 Chapter 5: Community Q&A: Timi answers your questions
• 1:10:21 Chapter 6: One thing we need to talk about more in the AI governance space: Global North and South power imbalance
• 1:13:49 Chapter 7: Closing thoughts from Timi