The Drafting Committee of the “ALECSO Charter on AI Ethics” held its meeting on February 4-7, 2025 at the headquarters of ALECSO in Tunis. 

During this meeting, the Committee started working on the first draft of the Charter, which constitutes a significant step toward establishing a comprehensive framework to promote the responsible and ethical use of AI in Arab countries. 

The meeting was attended by prominent Arab experts in the fields of technology, ethics, and law; thereby making sure the Charter will cover all aspects associated with AI, and is best aligned with regional needs.

The draft Charter involves three main focus areas : 1) Education : leveraging AI to improve the quality of education and enhance equal opportunities; 2) Culture : protecting Arab cultural identity and supporting digital creativity; and 3) Scientific research : fostering Arab and international cooperation to ensure the development of AI technologies to tackle scientific, economic, and environmental challenges.

This draft Charter was prepared in collaboration with prominent Arab experts and specialists, representatives from Member States, as well as academics and researchers specialized in AI and digital ethics. The drafting process relied on an extensive review of international charters and standards to ensure that the Charter aligns with global initiatives, while also taking into consideration the specificities of the Arab world and its peculiar challenges.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, stressed that this Charter represents a strategic step to strengthen the Arab world’s position in the digital transformation process, ensuring that AI technologies are leveraged in a sustainable and ethical manner.

For his part, Dr. Mohamed Jemni, Director of ICT at ALECSO and Chair of the Drafting Committee, highlighted the importance of AI governance, noting that the Charter sets clear principles related to transparency, accountability, privacy, fairness, and sustainability.

The Draft Charter will be presented to Member States and relevant experts for extensive discussion before being officially adopted as a reference framework. This will help unify Arab efforts in terms of AI ethics and enhance regional and international cooperation in this vital area.