The Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) is a young foundation initiated
by the Swiss Federal Government. Its mission is to engage in science diplomacy and
strengthen the international Geneva ecosystem by anticipating future scientific and
technological advances and their impact on people, society and the planet. GESDA’s
ambition is to put early on cutting-edge science at the core of the multilateral agenda and
support the development and deployment of global initiatives for the common good.

During the past year, GESDA has convened scientific leaders in the field of machine
learning and artificial intelligence to anticipate developments in the field with a 25-year
perspectives. One of those conversations let to a dedicated track at the AMLD 2021 series
on 10 May where we identified the major science and engineering trends, the main
bottlenecks and had a first discussion around the implications of those developments on
society and global governance.
This roundtable will expand previous debates and current discussions between science
and diplomacy leaders and bring in the perspectives from Africa. The main questions to
address:

• What are the major developments in machine learning and artificial intelligence that
  will have an impact in Africa? What are the trends and which approaches make a
  difference?
• How to overcome the divide between the actors who currently design the technology
  and the people who will use it or be affected by it? How can science diplomacy
  contribute to reduce the divide?
• What governance challenges exist around machine learning and artificial intelligence
  to ensure a development, deployment and use of the technology that benefits African
  societies?