ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ETHICS AND LEGAL EDUCATION IN AFRICA: PREPARING LAWYERS FOR ALGORITHMIC GOVERNANCE

Abstract

The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its increasing use have raised significant issues relating to transparency, accountability, fairness, privacy, and human rights. While considerable attention has been devoted to AI governance, relatively little focus has been placed on the capacity of legal education to prepare future generations of lawyers to address these emerging challenges, particularly within Africa. This paper examines the interrelationship between AI ethics, algorithmic governance, and legal education in Africa. Adopting a doctrinal and analytical methodology, it argues that effective algorithmic governance depends on lawyers possessing a broad range of competencies, including AI literacy, ethical reasoning, digital rights, technological accountability, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The study demonstrates that many legal education systems across Africa are currently inadequately equipped to prepare graduates for the realities of algorithmic governance. It proposes a competency-based framework for integrating AI ethics into legal education and recommends comprehensive curriculum reforms aimed at strengthening responsible, accountable, and rights-respecting AI governance across the continent.