GPI Africa Program – AI in Africa

On Monday, August 18, 2025, at 2:00 PM (EST) the Global Policy Institute (GPI) with GPI Africa program hold a talk titled “AI in Africa “via Zoom and in-person at BAU.

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Discussion topics (focusing on Africa):

Current Trends in AI & Security

• AI for Threat Detection & Response: Use of machine learning in anomaly detection, behavioral analytics, and predictive defense.
• Generative AI in Cyber Defense: Using large language models to simulate attacks, generate threat intel summaries, and support analysts.
• Zero Trust + AI Integration: AI-enforced dynamic access controls and behavioral-based authentication.
• AI in Cloud and IoT Security: Adaptive protection for cloud-native applications and smart devices using AI models.

 

🔹 Challenges

• Adversarial AI Attacks: Manipulating AI models through adversarial inputs (e.g., poisoned data, evasion attacks).
• Model Explainability (XAI): Difficulty in explaining AI decision-making in security-critical environments.
• Bias & Fairness: Risk of biased training data leading to skewed or unfair threat detection.
• Data Privacy & Ethics: Balancing security AI with data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA).
• AI Model Vulnerabilities: Exploits targeting model architecture and inference engines.
• Skills Gap: Shortage of cybersecurity professionals skilled in AI/ML, mainly on the security aspect.
• Over-Reliance on AI: Risk of automated systems missing nuanced human-driven threats.

 

🔹 Prospects and Opportunities

• Adaptive Cyber Defense Systems: Real-time learning and self-healing capabilities in security architectures.
• Secure AI-by-Design: Embedding security and trustworthiness during model development.
• AI for Threat Intelligence Fusion: Enhancing situational awareness by correlating massive threat feeds.
• Public-Private Collaboration: Governments and industry working together on secure AI governance frameworks.
• Global AI Security Standards: Emergence of frameworks like NIST’s AI RMF and ISO/IEC 42001.

Speaker

Dr. Zelalem Mengistu is a distinguished cybersecurity expert with over 20 years of experience in the field. He currently serves as a CEO & Director of Global Cybersecurity & Emerging Tech at RASBYTE. Dr. Zelalem served in various positions as a Government contractor at USPTO, DoS, USCG, FEMA, CBP, USMC, DHS, DHS-CISA, & Mcafee. Since 2020, Dr. Mengistu has also been an Associate Professor of Cybersecurity at Bay Atlantic University (BAU) in Washington, D.C., where he teaches in the Information Sciences and Engineering Department. In addition, Dr. Zelalem also teaches at the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC). His significant contributions to cybersecurity include a robust portfolio of research publications, many of which have been featured in the prestigious ACM Journal.

Moderators

Paolo von Schirach

Paolo von Schirach became President of the Global Policy Institute, GPI, in 2016. He is also Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Bay Atlantic University, BAU, in Washington DC. He previously served as Department Chair for Political Science and IR at BAU. Areas of expertise: US politics and economics, international security, NATO affairs, the war in Ukraine, the Middle East, US-China relations, Africa, terrorism, oil and gas and renewable energy.

Paolo von Schirach is the Founder and Editor of the Schirach Report, an online publication focusing on politics, economics and international security. Von Schirach is a frequent lecturer, TV and radio commentator, on US foreign and domestic politics and global issues. He is frequently on Alhurra TV, Asharq News, BBC Arabic, TG5 (Italy), Cairo TV, Sky News Arabia, Newsy, France 24, and other networks.

For more than 25 years von Schirach worked in emerging markets as Team Leader and Senior Expert managing investment and trade promotion programs. Prior to that he was a Research Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS, which was followed by filling the role of Director of Communications, and later Senior Research Fellow, at the Atlantic Council. He was Deputy Director of the Global Security Project at Georgetown University, and Vice President for International Programs at Intelx, an institution focusing on international education. He was an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Program of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, (MSFS). He has been a frequent lecturer at the Foreign Service Institute, (FSI), the U.S. Federal Government’s primary foreign affairs training institution. Von Schirach holds higher degrees from Georgetown University where he was also a Fulbright Scholar and Fellow in the Government Department, the London School of Economics, the University of Pisa, Italy, and the Scuola Universitaria Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa.

 

Oonah Jaja-Wachuku (Director – Africa Program)

Oonah Jaja-Wachuku is the department chair for General Education at Bay Atlantic University, Washington D.C. Her teaching career spans two decades (K-12 and higher education) and three different continents. She is a published author and researcher whose research interests include African history, cultures and literature. Additionally, she has also pursued entrepreneurial activities centered on African identities in fashion, art and literature.

Ms. Jaja-Wachuku is a cultural advocate and through various media, promotes interculturality among different African cultures on the continent and transculturality between diaspora and continental Africans – in the spirit of pan-Africanism.

She holds an MBA in International Business Management from the American University, Kyrenia and an MA in Multilingualism, Linguistics and Education from Goldsmiths College, University of London. She is an active member of the African Literature Association (ALA).

 

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