Let’s explore some use cases …

1. Climate Modelling

One of the more compelling applications of AI is in climate modeling. Traditional climate models are robust, but normally incongruous with the processing of vast reams of data needed to predict future patterns of climate. AI analyzes such large data sets at speeds previously unattainable, therefore underpinning the accuracy of climate forecasts and allowing scientific understanding of complex changes that are happening in the environment. It is this enhanced capability in modeling that will be important in formulating strategies to mitigate climate change impacts.

2. AI for Renewables

AI also has a huge role in the initiation of renewable energy solutions. By optimizing production and distribution for sources like solar and wind power, AI can increase efficiency. AI-managed smart grids would be better positioned to balance demand and supply of energy more effectively, hence integrating renewables in the energy mix and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. AI is also currently used for its predictability variable in solar energy and wind farming for Germany and Denmark respectively as well as revolutionizing the operation of smart grids in California and carbon capture in Canada. This lowers greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and paves the way for a sustainable energy future.

3. Manufacturing and Transportation Sectors

Manufacturing is one of these large emitters worldwide, in which huge differences can be made by AI-powered efficiencies through the optimization of production processes and waste reduction, as well as energy use processes that will hugely reduce GHG emissions. Another major way AI spearheads the big urban GHG slice to cleaner air is through AI-regulated public transport, electric and autonomous automobiles, and intelligent traffic management. This helps the entities to comply with the National Climate Change Act Cap. 182, the National Environment Act Cap. 181, and other relevant legislations.

However, as we embrace AI’s potential, we must also address associated ethical challenges.

4. Environmental Monitoring

AI is going to change the way we think about environmental monitoring and conservation. From satellite images showing deforestation and melting of the glaciers, AI has huge potential to provide critical insights into setting up conservation strategies in the areas of biodiversity and wildlife habitats. AI-driven pollution control technologies can detect and mitigate pollution in real time, hence contributing to a healthier ecosystem and community. But with this ability comes great associated ethical challenges we must address.

What needs to happen

Bias-free AI applications in society, therefore, hold paramount significance. Individual privacy in environmental monitoring applications has to be critically observed to retain civic trust and support for AI initiatives. That is to say, we, Uganda and Africa, still need appropriate policies and regulatory frameworks since they are the enabling frameworks for developing, deploying, and using AI responsibly in solving climate change. We can also turn to the 2024-27 work plan of the UNFCC’s #AI4ClimateAction Initiative to guide us on some aspects.

What the future looks like …

Looking ahead, AI is going to underpin our response and resilience to climate change. Across borders, AI will continue to enhance data sharing and predictive modeling that calls for a unanimous global response in the fight against climate change. The collaboration between policymakers, scientists, and industry leaders to fully tap into the potentials of AI is expected to grow in a bid that AI serves for good.

In other words, AI and climate action are companions offering much-needed hope within this otherwise daunting landscape. We shall go further to the extent of harnessing AI capability in making headway on understanding, mitigating, and adapting to climate change. This should serve as a call to action for all actors to embrace this technology and work together toward a sustainable future.

See also: OPED: How technology can mitigate climate change

The post OP-ED: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence For Climate Action appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Cyber fraud also known as electronic fraud, is an unfortunate concept born out of using computing power and other technologies to steal money and other resources of pecuniary value from unsuspecting navigators of online spaces. This has become an issue in Uganda and is prevalent amongst persons who use mobile-enabled and online financial services such as banking, transfers, and online purchases.

Indeed, according to a Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Report on banking and the status of financial inclusion in Uganda: Insights from FinScope 2018 Survey, 12% of persons with back accounts prefer mobile banking as the channel of choice, and 2% preferred internet banking as the mode or channel used to access banking/financial services.

But again, the online domain has transformed retail and commerce. Digital marketplaces have made goods more accessible. Specialized websites and dedicated apps have quickly multiplied and have simplified access to all types of commodities and services. The transformation of legal commerce has also been reflected in the criminal domain.

We have also recently observed a couple of trends viz; synthetic identity fraud, the use of AI-based attack vectors, the rise in fraud-as-a-service, contactless fraud from contactless mobile payments, pig butchering where fraudsters search dating and social media sites for victims and create fake accounts to interact with them inter alia.

Effects:

The impacts of a single, successful cyber fraud attack can have far-reaching implications including financial losses and loss of consumer confidence and trust. The overall monetary impact of cyber fraud on society and government is estimated to be billions of dollars a year. It is no wonder statistics estimate that cyber fraud has grown to become a hundred billion industry globally and it is expected to triple by 2025. The most outstanding effect remains the jeopardisation of financial transaction integrity.

Response of the law:

Uganda has laws that govern online conduct, transactions etcetera. The most famous is the Computer Misuse Act Cap. 96. It defines electronic fraud under Section 19 to mean deception, deliberately performed intending to secure an unfair or unlawful gain where part of a communication is sent through a computer network or any other communication and another part through the action of the victim of the offense or the action is performed through a computer network or both.

I have previously expressed reservations over the depth of this definition’s coverage vis-à-vis modern cyber fraud. Also given that this is from over 13 years ago, its spirit didn’t foresee and is out of touch with the rate of sophistication in computing power, emerging technologies, and other variables that have made the modern threat landscape murky waters for the authorities and victims.

See also: President Museveni signs the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act, 2022 into law

On to sophistication; the modes of cyber fraud have changed over the years to also include ransomware which has become rampant these days. In my unpublished undergraduate thesis from May 2021, I argue at the time that the internet, in particular, was a great tool for scammers and other miscreants, since it allowed them to ply their trade while hiding behind a shield of digital anonymity. This posed significant challenges to law enforcement agencies, regarding their ability to investigate complex crimes, occur in a virtual environment, incorporate multiple (often international) jurisdictions, and have a very low reporting rate.

… the internet, in particular, was a great tool for scammers and other miscreants, since it allowed them to ply their trade while hiding behind a shield of digital anonymity

I have since harbored a fresh perspective that differs from that position which is that emerging technologies such as general purpose and generative artificial intelligence have made it easier for rogue cyber actors to execute their attacks in ways that are so deceptive the victims will usually never see it coming.

What needs to be done:

We need to wake up to the reality that the Internet dominates commerce, communication, and access to information. The digital transformation of our economies, societies, and private lives is progressing fast and will continue to impact all aspects of life.

From the regulators’ perspective, the Bank of Uganda (BoU) needs to continuously issue risk management guidelines to the Supervised Financial Institutions (SFIs). They also should increase oversight surveillance capacity through new methodologies of risk-based supervision as well as financial innovations in development, deployment, and use.

Increased research into the modes, and the threat vulnerabilities that allow rogue cyber actors to prey in the unsuspecting victims. This will inform efforts for continuous policy development so that laws maintain their relevance in a contemporary setting. Incidentally, an amendment of Section 19 of the Computer Misuse Act Cap. 96 will ensure that we maintain the relevance of that very provision.

Relatedly, policymakers and regulators should guide policy discussions to focus on the regulation of financial innovations. Financial innovations are on the rise and ever-evolving, this means that the lacuna will always equally be evolving and this calls for the maintenance of a robust regulatory and supervisory framework. Such a framework should possess the capability to identify threats posed by the transition and provision of prompt alleviation actions.

Training and awareness campaigns are important for all in society. There is a need for a structured training and certification program/framework for cybersecurity-related careers in Uganda. Campaigns like Beera Steady targeting users will continue to play a great role in creating awareness and vigilance around cyber fraud-related issues. As the saying goes; educated consumers are empowered consumers.

Also read:

• • OP-ED: Getting a hold of cybersecurity
  • OP-ED: Architecting cybersecurity for Uganda’s fintech sector
  • Navigating the digital maze: A guide to online safety and cybersecurity
  • Hackers predict: The biggest cybersecurity worries in 2024

Awareness at critical levels enables and promotes the identification and reporting of cyber fraud attacks. Conducting cyber awareness amongst the employees of these financial institutions and the law enforcement agencies such as the cybercrimes division of police on electronic fraud, investigation and as I previously opined, inculcation of threat intelligence know-how to detect these threats as and when they are posed and to devise measures to counter these threats.

The government also has an important role to play in raising funding awareness among the public and other financial and ICT service providers. This means enhancing the capacity of staff to evaluate ICT risks and conduct ICT audits. Education/awareness will go a long way in enabling us to create and curate a database of all reported cases for predictive analysis and education of the authorities to have a meaningful implementation in the investigation as well as assessing the scale of damage and threat posed by the cyber fraud scourge.

As I take leave of the matter …

Digital financial services (DFS) promise to enable financial inclusion and thus help improve people’s lives. Due to the impact of technology in the banking sector, customers are moving away from using cash and checks and relying more on electronic banking to complete transactions.

We need a proactive approach to policing online fraud in the banking sector of Uganda. This will take a concerted effort from all parties along the value chain, those that develop these technologies, the financial institutions that roll out or deploy them, the regulator, and the users of these technologies.

The post OP-ED: Is Cyber Fraud Breaking Frontiers? appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Incidentally, I am a notorious advocate for technology as a great enabler in the justice system on the continent. Technology was initially marketed for its ability to save cost and time in the majority of the sectors where it was piloted and eventually adopted; be it in manufacturing, finance, security, education, or medicine. So much so that in the legal sector, it has influenced the trajectory of practice and legislation. My two cents on how we can maximize the good these well-intended technologies wield are as hereinafter.

For starters, technology makes it very easy to break down issues and single out relevant pieces of literature in legal research. Technology also eases how we as legal academicians do comparative analyses, and it is these that inform best practices that we replicate in our legislation and administration of justice. This is owing to the ability of technology to enhance the speed with which we carry out certain tasks along the justice value chain.

Tech has the power to help judicial officers in researching for purposes of writing decisions on sets of facts and issues presented before them. It also helps legal scholars in analyzing legal precedent which can be tedious as some decisions have hundreds or even thousands of pages. Take an example of the recent controversial decision of the Constitutional Court around the constitutionality of the Anti-Homosexuality Act vide Hon. Fox Odoi & 21 Others v Attorney General & 3 Others (Consolidated Constitutional Petition 14 of 2023; Consolidated Constitutional Petition 15 of 2023; Consolidated Constitutional Petition 16 of 2023; Consolidated Constitutional Petition 85 of 2023) [2024] UGCC 10 (3 April 2024) that has over 200 pages.

In addition to using technology for deep analytics, we can and have recently used it for predictive policing. Technology also has the ability to change the game when it comes to foreseeability, usually reasonable foreseeability since it can study patterns and potential outcomes for certain aspects. Interestingly, technology in the justice system can study behavioral patterns and incident histories.

An example is the risk modelling functionality of the National Data Analytics Solution (NDAS) a data analytics, risk assessment, and crime prediction tool, created by West Midlands Police in England that uses machine learning and predictive analytics to conduct “behavioral analysis” and “predictive modelling” to create and provide individual predictions and profiles about people and their likely future actions. This makes it possible for police and other justice, law, and order sector partners to study the reasons that influence and predict criminality.

Technology makes it possible for practitioners to break down barriers, silos and dismantle the disparity when it comes to access to justice. This happens by using related technologies for information dissemination through very common options such as short message service (SMS). This enables the populace in informal settlements and rural areas who might not have access to the internet for reasons of cost or simply accessibility to access justice. It is a whole avenue of capacity building for these rural dwellers.

Another avenue is the development of chatbots that give free or subsidized legal advice to inform the initial courses of action that their users can take. And I think we have several legal tech solutions such as “Winnie”, a legal chatbot that is under development at Barefoot Law. Winnie is poised to increase access to justice for ordinary Ugandans at the grassroots level. We have seen other applications and algorithms like “Pulida” to mention but a few.

Another avenue is the development of chat bots that give free or subsidised legal advice to inform the initial courses of action that their users can take.

Technology presents a great opportunity for the bar/practitioners in the way we collect and handle evidence. It also improves how the bench understands and interprets key pieces of evidence. In law school, one thing that we appreciated was that everything in the adjudication process is about leverage but most importantly how one proves their case.

The most common avenue is adducing evidence with probative value. From surveillance for collection to storage and interpretation of evidence gathered to maintain its probative value, technology is central. Tech makes it possible for us to collect information, and data messages and to sift through large volumes of details.

Indeed, when it comes to complex aspects like deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), assistive technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a key role in processing complex bio-evidence. For example, in some cases, there are possibilities of convolution where you have a spillover of DNA at a scene of crime. This can occur where at a scene of crime, authorities find DNA for party A that might not have anything to do with the crime under investigation getting mixed with that of party B and C who participated in the crime.

This usually poses a challenge for the justice system and forensic experts in telling the two apart, hence the process of deconvolution, a solution that permits the isolation of various DNA for analysis. In fact, we shall continue to see partnerships around research to pilot novel machine learning-based methods of mixture deconvolution. Interesting to see how this will continue to revolutionize the administration of justice.

Albeit the rosy advantages presented by the inclusion of technology, we must proceed cautiously. This speaks to the inculcation of responsible and ethical development, deployment, and use of these technologies in public and private practice as well as the administration of justice. So, questions around bias inherent in datasets used to train these technologies, issues around data privacy and protection as well as transparency and lack of human rights safeguards have resulted in these technologies being marred by distrust amongst the public.

Albeit the rosy advantages presented by the inclusion of technology, it is important that we proceed cautiously.

As I take leave of this very important subject, technology has hundreds, if not thousands, of ways it is transforming the administration of justice the world over. However, all these necessitate a concerted effort from society to ensure responsible development, ethical deployment, and informed use of the various technologies lest we drag the noble legal profession through the arena of disrepute and diminish public confidence in how justice is administered.

Judicial officers are encouraged to maintain independent thought processes and be prepared to prevail over some of these technologies even when they assist these officers in their day-to-day functions.

The post OP-ED: Technology as an Abettor in Legal Justice Transformation appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

We explored ways AI can enable and impact the democratic processes in Africa and with over 17 countries on the continent gone or going to the polls this year, I wouldn’t think of a more relevant time to dissect what this technology means for African democracy.

The good, and the not-so-good of AI in elections

AI, of course, plays a key role in the administration of elections with functions ranging from how we do voter engagement, ensuring transparency etcetera. This has the potential to enhance electoral processes. But this comes at the backdrop of some arguments that AI is merely a tool and nothing more. On the flip side, this double-edged technology offers rogue actors avenues for misuse and can threaten the very foundation of democracy.

For example, we have seen a rise in AI-generated deep fakes, which is a portmanteau for “deep learning” and “fake” entirely fabricated media, representing one of the most perfidious ways electoral sanctity is under threat/attack. These manipulated media forms can be used to confuse and dissuade the public regarding the position of the candidates, attribute statements, and even create scenarios that never occurred—all undermining the ability of the voters to make informed decisions.

The dangers posed by deepfakes are apparent. In the last few years, we’ve witnessed AI-generated content being weaponized in political campaigns in Africa and globally. Just this year, we saw it at play in the Indian general election with a fake video of M Karunanidhi, in which he was cheering on his old buddy TR Baalu at a book launch. Yet Karunanidhi passed away in 2018. This video, though debunked, had already sown seeds of doubt and confusion among voters, highlighting how AI can be used to manipulate public perception and disrupt the democratic process.

Where we have come from …

It is important to understand where we have come from as a people that use and interact with AI as a technology and the challenge it poses for the election process and democracy at large. Like I’ve said before, this whole AI thing has completely changed the game. In the past, we have seen smaller campaigns of misinformation and disinformation that were less sophisticated.

For those who have not watched the motion picture “The Great Hack” (Netflix), the scale of social engineering in the 2016 US Elections was merely a peek in terms of a certain scale into the era being ushered in. In comparison to what we have today, that was a simpler manipulation campaign because, of course, today we have a new variable that is AI which heightens manipulation.

Currently, AI-driven disinformation is complex. The opportunity to transition from traditional mis/disinformation campaigns to modern ones enabled by AI is a worryingly interesting area to explore. The power of sophistication and speed in terms of both generation and dissemination of skewed narratives has reached a worrying level.

Recently, the volumes of AI-generated content have been an issue since this overwhelms information ecosystems which overloads and makes it very difficult for the unsuspecting public to sieve through the real and fake of all the content rendering them susceptible to these false information campaigns.

The current state of interplay

There is a promise that AI will revolutionize how we carry out the administration of elections in terms of ballot verification, information dissemination, and whatnot. But all this is hype given that African governments have tons of priorities and free and fair elections are not one of those priorities.

So of course, there will be little or no budgetary allocations for these sorts of endeavors, and yet resources are a key enabler for how we as a continent (Africa) conduct processes that usher in new governments. The other issue is around the weakness of our technological infrastructure as a continent that leaves it susceptible to foreign influences and further complicates efforts to ensure fair and transparent elections.

There is a promise that AI will revolutionise how we carryout administration of elections in terms of ballot verification, information dissemination and what not.

The unchecked use of AI in the election cycles has resulted in voter manipulation. But unrelatedly, yet of concern, is the power that AI affords rogue cyber actors to cripple the information and electoral infrastructure of a given country. For example, with AI, it would be easier given the power and faster given the processing speed of these technologies for state-backed/sponsored rogue as well as independent cyber actors to attack and bring down the electoral infrastructure in an election period in that country.

We have seen increased polarisation of the electorate from simple AI-enabled content shared on social media platforms. Imagine the impact this will have on society if these technologies remain unchecked in election seasons with the increased tensions between rival factions in a race. This is why we need to swing into action and ensure the protection of the sanctity of the election season.

However, this discussion doesn’t negate other intervening variables, that affect the integrity of any election here in Africa and in all parts of the world. We have hacks from domestic and foreign agents, issues around the apparent digital divide, education, human rights abuses during the election cycle etcetera.

This discussion doesn’t negate other intervening variables, that affect the integrity of any election here in Africa and in all parts of the world.

Way forward

We need to leverage the opportunity presented through policy and regulation. Legislation has the power to influence societal conduct. We can move for laws that regulate the use of AI in election cycles to avoid and bar voter manipulation. In the United States, this has been successful where some states have moved for disclosure when AI is used in the generation of campaign content or some states, a total ban on the use of AI in the election cycles.

I am a strong advocate for the use of AI with guardrails in place to preserve democracy, residually —human rights, the rule of law, and society. We should be reminded that regulation is always determined by the incentives of those behind it. Even then, I do not think it is wise to entirely ban the use of AI in these sorts of processes.

See also: OP-ED: Scared of AI? It Won’t Replace Humans

This helps protect the integrity of the election cycle. I am a strong believer that everything flows from thorough policies and also placing Africa as an ideological leader as compared to previously where we have applied “copy and paste” of laws and models from foreign jurisdiction. It would be a great opportunity for us to set the agenda and shape the narrative around the regulation of AI use in election processes.

Education and awareness by CSOs, publishing, and information powerhouses like PC Tech Magazine to supplant the efforts of the electoral commission, are very vital in ensuring that we have an educated and informed public. An informed public is an empowered public and will be in place to spot and debunk some of these mis/disinformation campaigns by rogue domestic actors, nations’ autocratic regimes, and other foreign actors who might want to interfere in the electoral processes of a nation.

But again, political will is also necessary for both the legislative and digital literacy agenda to take off given that the process of law-making, implementation, and education starts with adequate resource allocation which requires a vote at the budgetary level. Given the disparity in national priorities, I think it would be wise for governments to rethink and find a healthy balance between conflicting priorities.

In the spirit of unity, cooperation between governments, civil society, and the private sector is crucial. This is simply because the process of enacting standards and codes to govern the use and or guide the extent of and application of artificial intelligence requires concerted conspiracies between the government, CSOs, academia, and the private sector. International cooperation efforts are important since the challenges posed by AI can be transboundary at times.

In particular, making a disclosure, transparency, and tagging certain information as AI-generated or deep fake may help in the taming of this scourge. This goes with ensuring responsibility by design from the developers’ end when these AI models are developed. It ensures that they inherently abhor misinformative and disinforming rhetoric and campaign gimmicks that jeopardize democracies. This has been very successful in several states in the United States and a few other foreign jurisdictions where it has been piloted.

Civic space actors, organizations, and others can leverage open-source intelligence in trend analysis, fact-checking, and probing data/information that makes rounds during elections. Fortunately, millions of OSINT resources are available on social media and are easier to use compared to the traditional fact-checking and verifying avenues.

Organizations like the Citizen Report are doing commendable work in terms of fact-checking information that is disseminated on social media and elsewhere. Such initiatives can supplement OSINT technologies. OSINT has also been a great aid in differentiating videos produced by the propaganda machinery of Israel/Palestine or Russia/Ukraine in their offensive. A true demonstration of its ability to cure mis/disinformation shenanigans.

Lastly …

AI in electoral processes is bound to make democracy stronger or to erode if left unchecked. How well we navigate will dictate the future of African democracy and back home, the impending 2026 Ugandan elections. Let us focus on strengthening legal regimes, bettering the degree of digital literacy, as well as fostering cooperation that would help secure the integrity of elections and protect human rights, society, and democracies. This should, therefore, serve as a summon to all concerned actors to ensure the technology is directed towards working for a stronger democracy in Africa.

The post OP-ED: Artificial Intelligence and the Biggest Election Year appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Disruptive, Disruptive, Disruptive!

By their nature, emerging technologies are disruptive, and we see through how their processing power and speeds have revolutionized the way of living for society. Some of these emerging technologies include such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence etcetera. A clear example is the impact they have had on our enjoyment of fundamental freedoms. A comparison to how the normative content of these freedoms as enshrined under the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995 as amended as well as other Constitutions around Africa and the chasm created by the nature of these technologies as regards enjoyment of the same shows the trajectory but also the modus said freedoms are taking under the new technological regime. Today we have debates around free speech as we used to know it under these laws and then the creation of deep fake content, increased misinformation, and disinformation. This is one of the ways of envisioning the disruptive nature of these technologies.

See also: Understanding deep fake technology: how it works and concerns arising from its implementation

The other issue is around liability with the recent developments in technology. Does liability fall with manufacturers, suppliers, or users of these emerging technologies in cases of apportioning fault? There has, of course, been increased uncertainty when it comes to who should bear the burden of recompense or remedy in cases where these emerging technologies are used. The reason is simple, we are trying to apply traditional rules on negligence to a “new kid on the block” from a whole other continuum dimension.

These emerging technologies have several certain and uncertain ramifications for human rights and society in several sectors, be it transportation, manufacturing, security, education, medicine, law, agriculture etcetera.

The problem with the existing laws

As African democracies, we have tried to do our best when it comes to having some of these laws in place albeit most are steeped in reactionary conservative tendencies and lack that proactive aspect. The majority of our laws are archaic and suffer lag when it comes to policing affairs under emerging technologies. You have technology that morphs and evolves by the minute whereas the laws seeking to regulate some of these technologies such as the Ugandan and Kenyan Computer Misuse Acts date back a decade, albeit with a few periodical amendments. This means that these laws do not account for the recent breakneck changes in technology and as such leave a legal vacuum.

The other issue happens to arise out of implementation. The bodies in charge of enforcement and implementation of some of these laws are not well grounded in principle, their personnel is not primed to effectively enforce and then the bodies lack adequate resource envelopes for actualization of some of the projects that are crafted around thorough enforcement such as educational, awareness and advocacy campaigns as well as refresher courses for enforcement personnel given that these technologies morph in a blink of an eye. This exacerbates the issue of some of these outdated laws. There is a whole myriad of issues with the existing legislation as far as they attempt to maintain equilibrium in a space that evolves now and then.

There really is a whole myriad of issues with the existing legislation in as far as they attempt to maintain equilibrium in a space that evolves every now and then.

What can we do?

Research is very important since it informs the ideological trajectory. However, by its nature and backing of some empirical findings, research is also at the heart of and influences policy formulation. Given that we are dealing with ever-evolving technologies, it would be a great foundation for the development of regulation and legislation that continuously develops and evolves at the same speed as some of these technologies. Research plays a key role in supplanting policy. Only with thorough research can we make meaningful legislation but even then, it should be in harmony with the existing international mechanisms and networks on the same technologies.

The recently agreed UN Cybercrime Convention is the most recent example of efforts to make sure laws are meeting the test of time and regulating conduct as it happens for both cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crime globally. There have been efforts in the region to align our local legal regime to the disruptive nature of these technologies and I am a proud part of the same. An example is efforts being undertaken by KICTANet which is reappraising the effectiveness of the Kenyan Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act. Other African nations can benchmark on the recent UN Cybercrime Convention trilogue and the efforts in Kenya so that we start having these necessary discussions.

For enforcement, we can look to training the law enforcement bodies on implementation and accountability as well as their related residual obligations under these laws. As a result, we can safeguard human rights, society, and the spirit, and the intended purpose of some of these laws. Capacity budling centered around refresher courses, continued engagements, and assessments on enforcement as well as cooperation should inform training endeavors. That way the laws serve that which they are enacted for.

As the public, we have a pivotal role of accountability akin to watchdogs to carry out oversight on some of these well-intended regulatory endeavors. This entails demanding strict adherence to the rule of law even in the light of emerging technologies to deter abuse of due process by authoritarian regimes. These regimes are well known for exploiting legal loopholes for example when it comes to emerging technologies that were initially not covered by the outdated legislation to abuse civil liberties. The vacuum in laws creates an opportunity for these repressive regimes to prey on civil liberties when it comes to emerging technology-related or enabled conduct.

I also believe that through legal advocacy for example by amplifying these discussions in public spaces or even issuing opinions on the existing state of regulation and how it can be improved etc., we can drive forth positive political will. It is this will that influences resource allocation which is a necessary ingredient for crafting and implementing policies. This also creates a suitable environment for the realization of all the above. But also, resources are vital for the eradication of the existing technological chasm or divide that exists amongst different social demographics. Remember empowered public spaces are crucial for driving and demanding meaningful change.

We shall continue to see increased disruption from the development and deployment as well as the use of these emerging technologies. Policy makers must keep abreast with developments and as recommended governments need to up the ante when it comes to resource allocation for some of these legislative initiatives. It is then that we maintain the relevance of some of these laws vis-a-vis emerging technologies and changing times. There remains a challenge for every — digital citizen; be it as regulators, developers, users, and subjects of the actions or results of these technologies to ensure we have meaningful, functional, and relevant policies.

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