Jake Effoduh

Jake Effoduh has gained significant expertise in international human rights advocacy at various ranks of domestic, regional, and international legal systems. He has also informed the regulatory frameworks and policy formulation on artificial intelligence (AI) both for supranational organizations and domestic institutions in several countries including the United States, Brazil, and Nigeria. Prior to joining Lincoln Alexander Law, Effoduh served as Chief Counsel of Africa – Canada AI and Data Innovation Consortium, mobilizing AI and big data techniques to build governance strategies. He is also the project coordinator of Canada’s Rights Role in Sub-Saharan Africa, a multi-year interdisciplinary SSHRC-funded partnership between Canada and several African countries. Effoduh has held multiple academic fellowships including at the Centre for Law, Technology, and Society at the University of Ottawa; the Harvard Library Innovation Lab of Harvard Law School; the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance of the University of Cape Town; and the Center for Human Rights Science of Carnegie Mellon University.

Effoduh's research has been at the intersections of international law, human rights, and AI, with some of his works published by the Harvard Human Rights Journal; Oxford University Press; Journal of Robotics, AI & Law; African Journal of Legal Studies; and TWAIL Review. He is the Production Editor of the Transnational Human Rights Review, a peer-reviewed journal on transnational human rights normativity and practices. Effoduh has delivered lectures at various universities in Canada and at universities in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Germany, Spain, and the UK. As a Vanier Scholar and Ph.D. candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School, Effoduh is examining ways that the legitimization of AI is impacting the pursuit and realization of human rights in Africa, and investigating if the technology will solve or exacerbate the “popular legitimization crises” that activist forces face in the region.