National data as CI - and AI --- This list of data of national importance can be extended to citizens' data of any sort - either personal data, or even data that are not the identifiers but 'belong' to citizens, like their actions on social media.

Why? Because this all gets fed into the AI; and those that can use mass data get better AI. Now imagine if Africa, with all its human potential and use of the Internet today, would be able to primarily feed African data into African AI projects, rather than into Google's or Facebook's.

On the other hand, by allowing Google and others to also use African data, Africa could be more confident that the AI algorithms of those third-parties are not biased by color of the skin, etc. Yet, this could still be a decision of Africa how and when to give away its data.

Is it likely to happen? I guess not.

Source author: Vladimir Radunovic vladar@diplomacy.edu