Making recommendations for the use of AI in migration management in South Africa

Summary

The Policy Action Network (PAN) presented a data guide series to assess and suggest recommendations for artificial intelligence regulation for a more inclusive approach to migration management in South Africa.

This specific guide explains the aims of biometric passports and the costs and benefits of their implementation. It details considerations for policies, such as human rights guarantees and protections such as privacy when implementing biometrics. It also focuses on how to evaluate the reliability of such systems, guarantee the security of databases  against other kinds of use of personal information, ensure informed consent, and ensure access to an appeal mechanism in case of disputed or inaccurate data.

Results

The guide makes 4 recommendations:   (1) add the protection guarantee of personal information from commercial use or other purposes in the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act; (2) ensure the use of personal data for migration management is only used for the purposes for which it was collected; (3) ensure the implementation of informed consent when collecting  information and an appeal mechanism in case of disputed or inaccurate personal data; and 4) support research and assessments of AI and data-driven migration management to better understand risks, unintended consequences and critical system design considerations.