This course introduces you to biosecurity, how artificial intelligence is changing the field, and what these developments mean for Africa. It explores both how AI can strengthen biosecurity, pandemic preparedness, surveillance, diagnostics, research, and response, and how the same technologies may create new biological risks, misuse concerns, safety challenges, and governance questions. The purpose is not to make you a technical expert in a short course. The aim is to give you a strong foundation, help you think critically about AI and biological security, and prepare you to identify important problems, research questions, and opportunities in African contexts.
This course is for students, early-career professionals, researchers, and others interested in biology, medicine, veterinary science, public health, computer science and AI, policy, security, social sciences, or emerging technologies. You do not need prior expertise in AI or biosecurity, and people from different educational and professional backgrounds are welcome.
Explain what biosecurity is and why it matters in Africa.
Describe how AI is becoming relevant to biology and biosecurity.
Identify ways AI can strengthen pandemic preparedness and biological security.
Recognize how the same AI capabilities may also create new biological risks.
Explain basic approaches to reducing and governing AI-biosecurity risks.
Think critically about how African institutions, infrastructure, data, resources, health systems, and priorities affect these issues.
Identify an AI-biosecurity problem or research question that deserves further investigation.