MALI, CÔTE D’IVOIRE, RDC… : L’INTELLIGENCE ARTIFICIELLE MENACE-T-ELLE LA SOUVERAINETÉ DE L’AFRIQUE ?

Deciphering Africa champions independent, free, and rigorous journalism. To continue producing our programs independently, we need your support. 👉 Support Deciphering Africa: http://www.dla.news 👉 Subscribe to our WhatsApp channel: https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029... 📩 Don't miss any programs: receive our alerts by newsletter or WhatsApp at http://www.dla.news/alertes Fake media, influence campaigns, telecommunications surveillance: how far can artificial intelligence be used against civil liberties in Africa? In a report on the malicious uses of Claude, the American company Anthropic describes several operations concerning the DRC, the Central African Republic, Kenya, Sudan, and Mali. The Malian case raises a particular question: according to Anthropic, a consultant presented as having ties to intelligence services allegedly used Claude to design a telecommunications surveillance platform covering some 25 million SIM cards. The company claims to have closed the account in question, but indicates that the platform continues to operate. In this first part of Deciphering Africa, we welcome Roland Kouakou, communications and political analyst, and Fabrice Epelboin, entrepreneur and expert in the geopolitics of digital technology. What do we know about the actors behind the operations described by Anthropic? Why is the company publishing these revelations now? And how can we distinguish documented risks from the alarmist rhetoric that accompanies the race for artificial intelligence? Our guests place these revelations within the context of the economic and technological rivalry between American companies and open Chinese AI models. They discuss the development costs of these technologies, the interests at stake in their regulation, and the role left for African countries. How can citizens be protected against disinformation and abusive surveillance when states neither control the tools nor, often, the data they use? Is a common response at the African level conceivable? We also revisit the strategic partnership signed between Côte d'Ivoire and Mistral AI. At this stage, the announced mission focuses primarily on an audit of the Ivorian artificial intelligence ecosystem and the preparation of a roadmap. However, several questions remain unanswered in the publicly available information discussed during the program: How much will this cooperation cost? Where will the data be hosted? Who will own the developed solutions? And will the Ivorian state be able to change service providers without losing control of its tools? Why call upon a foreign company for this audit when Côte d'Ivoire has specialized national engineers and structures? Roland Kouakou and Fabrice Epelboin compare their analyses on the role that local skills, data centers, and open-source software could play in building African technological autonomy. Between development opportunities and risks to freedoms, who will decide how artificial intelligence is used in Africa? To support Deciphering Africa and receive our new videos directly on WhatsApp: *https://dla.news* #ArtificialIntelligence #Africa #Mali #IvoryCoast #MistralAI #Anthropic #DecipheringAfrica