We often find ourselves navigating complex regulatory landscapes when deploying artificial intelligence solutions in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). A few countries have their own AI policies, like Rwanda and Nigeria, while other LMIC governments struggle to manage AI innovations.
What is a digital development practitioner to do?
How about you use the AI GOvernance and Regulatory Archive (AGORA database) to help policy makers understand where and how they can ensure responsible AI and promote private sector innovation?
AGORA is a comprehensive collection of AI-relevant laws, regulations, standards, and governance documents from around the world, though the current dataset skews toward U.S. law and policy. AGORA has a rich metadata structure, including document text, summaries, and thematic tags that enable deep analysis of the global AI governance landscape.
Think of it as a specialized legal database built specifically for understanding how different jurisdictions are approaching AI regulation and governance.
4 AGORA Benefits for Digital Development
The database helps us navigate the complex intersection of AI deployment and regulatory compliance. As we implement AI solutions in healthcare, agriculture, or education across different countries, understanding the regulatory environment becomes crucial for project success and sustainability.
1. Identify Regulatory Patterns
AGORA’s structured approach to categorizing AI governance documents helps us identify patterns and trends in how different regions approach AI regulation. The database’s focus on both enacted and proposed regulations also gives us visibility into the direction of AI governance. This is particularly valuable for digital development practitioners working across multiple jurisdictions or planning to scale solutions across borders.
2. Manage Risk and Compliance
The database’s detailed categorization of artificial intelligence risk factors and harms addressed by various regulations helps us better assess and mitigate risks in AI-powered development projects. Its taxonomy covers everything from technical security to bias and fairness concerns, allowing us to build more responsible and sustainable solutions.
3. Improve AI Project Design
By understanding the regulatory landscape early in the artificial intelligence solution project lifecycle, we can design interventions that are more likely to succeed and scale. The database’s thematic tags and summaries make it easier to identify relevant regulatory requirements and governance frameworks during the planning phase.
4. Better Advocacy and Policy Dialogue
The AGORA database enables evidence-based participation in policy discussions affecting digital development. We can use its comprehensive collection of governance documents to advocate for regulatory frameworks that support responsible innovation while protecting vulnerable populations. This is particularly valuable when designing solutions that need to work across different jurisdictions.
How to Use AGORA in Digital Development
I recommend we take the following five steps to maximize the value of this resource when designing AI solutions in low- and middle-income countries without clear AI regulation frameworks:
- Systematic Project Planning: Use AGORA’s thematic taxonomy during project planning to identify relevant regulatory considerations. Pay particular attention to the “Risk factors governed” and “Harms addressed” categories to ensure comprehensive risk assessment.
- Regular Monitoring: Since AGORA is a living database, establish a routine for checking updates relevant to your project’s jurisdiction and focus areas. This helps ensure ongoing compliance and adaptation to regulatory changes.
- Knowledge Sharing: Create internal knowledge repositories that link AGORA’s regulatory insights to your organization’s specific project contexts. This helps build institutional memory and improves project design over time.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Use AGORA’s summaries and analysis to better engage with stakeholders, including government officials, donors, and community partners. The database’s structured information can help facilitate more informed discussions about regulatory compliance and risk management.
- Policy Contribution: Leverage the database’s comprehensive coverage to contribute meaningfully to policy discussions. Use comparative analysis of different regulatory approaches to advocate for frameworks that support effective digital development while protecting vulnerable populations.
You Can Help Improve AGORA
You can help AGORA expand to cover more jurisdictions and make it a valuable resource for digital development practitioners everywhere. We can use it today to navigate the complex landscape of AI governance and maximize the positive impact of our work in LMICs with its structured approach to documenting AI governance.
The challenge now is to actively incorporate AGORA into our AI project lifecycle processes and use its insights to shape both our implementations and our contributions to the broader dialogue on AI governance in development contexts. As the database grows and evolves, its value as a resource for digital development practitioners will only increase.
