The public-private — A key legal nexus for South Africa’s AI future

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here; but what ‘here’ means is very different according to the country in which it is being implemented or explored. In South Africa, a data controversy relating to the commercial use of the national social grants distribution database provides some foundational insight into future risks in the deployment of AI. In this policy brief, I specifically consider the public-private intersections in the deployment of technology-centred projects, and what accountability needs to look like to mitigate against the risk that citizens may be subject to because of them.