Several African countries are developing artificial intelligence (AI) strategies and ethics frameworks with the goal of accelerating responsible AI development and adoption. However, many of these governance actions are emerging without consideration for their suitability to local contexts, including whether the proposed policies are feasible to implement and what their impact may be on regulatory outcomes. In response, we suggest that there is a need for more explicit policy learning, by looking at existing governance capabilities and experiences related to algorithms, automation, data, and digital technology in other countries and in adjacent sectors. From such learning, it will be possible to identify where existing capabilities may be adapted or strengthened to address current AI-related opportunities and risks. This paper explores the potential for learning by analysing existing policy and legislation in twelve African countries across three main areas: strategy and multi-stakeholder engagement, human dignity and autonomy, and sector-specific governance. The findings point to a variety of existing capabilities that could be relevant to responsible AI; from existing model management procedures used in banking and air quality assessment to efforts aimed at enhancing public sector skills and transparency around public–private partnerships, and the way in which existing electronic transactions legislation addresses accountability and human oversight. All of these point to the benefit of wider engagement on how existing governance mechanisms are working, and on where AI-specific adjustments or new instruments may be needed.

This article examines the evolution of bioethics over the past four decades since the publication of John Harris’ seminal work, “The Value of Life” (1985). It argues that while the core principles articulated by Harris remain relevant, bioethics has undergone significant transformation across four key domains. First, the expanding frontiers of biotechnology have necessitated engagement with complex issues beyond individual clinical ethics. Second, there has been a widening of the circle of moral concern to encompass nonhuman animals, disability rights, and global health equity. Third, bioethics has become increasingly entangled with public policy and governance. Finally, the field has seen substantial academic proliferation and institutionalization. These developments have pushed bioethics to adapt its frameworks and methodologies while maintaining fidelity to foundational principles. This article concludes by considering the future challenges and opportunities for bioethics in an increasingly complex technological and social landscape.

Nigeria has a significant gender financial inclusion gap with women disproportionately represented among the financially excluded. Artificial intelligence (AI) powered financial technologies (fintech) present distinctive advantages for enhancing women’s inclusion. This includes efficiency gains, reduced transaction costs, and personalized services tailored to women’s needs. Nonetheless, AI harbours a paradox. While it promises to address financial inclusion, it can also inadvertently perpetuate and amplify gender bias. The critical question is thus, how can AI effectively address the challenges of women’s financial exclusion in Nigeria? Using publicly available data, this research undertakes a qualitative analysis of AI-powered Fintech services in Nigeria. Its objective is to understand how innovations in financial services correspond to the needs of potential users like unbanked or underserved women. The research finds that introducing innovative financial services and technology is insufficient to ensure inclusion. Financial inclusion requires the availability, accessibility, affordability, appropriateness, sustainability, and alignment of services with the needs of potential users, and policy-driven strategies that aid inclusion.

The aim of this study was to understand how and why relational welfare works to support young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET). It builds on research discussing the limitations of work-first and human capital strategies in social policy while responding to calls for theory-driven insights into initiatives that move beyond employability and rapid employment. The material for this realist evaluation includes programme documents, fieldnotes and 75 interviews with practitioners and participants in community-based multicomponent initiatives delivered by Swedish municipalities. These data were scrutinised against programme theories while integrating literature on relational welfare as underpinned by co-creation and capability approaches. The results illustrate how flexible, challenging and coordinated programming strengthen beings and doings of young people in NEET situations while improving their wellbeing by overcoming isolation and forming a future orientation. The study provides guidance for supporting NEET-situated young people through a relational approach to welfare. It also offers a model against which local initiatives provided to a youth group high on the policy agenda can be mapped.

Access challenges for China researchers have increased, including for online research. This paper focuses on one subset of such challenges: policy documents. As no studies have to date analysed variation in data availability over time, researchers studying official documents risk conflating variation in transparency with actual policy change. This paper analyses missingness and finds that publication of policy documents under China's “open government information” initiative increased until the mid-late 2010s but then began to decrease. A key determinant of policy transparency is whether a document is related to citizens’ daily lives, as opposed to national security. Furthermore, nearly 20 per cent of policy documents become unavailable two years after their publication. The paper concludes with a discussion on how to mitigate these challenges.

Immigration policies designed to deter people from seeking asylum are gaining traction in many Western nations, with the UK recently attempting to establish an offshore immigration processing centre in Rwanda. This letter outlines emerging evidence from Australia on the negative long-term psychological effects of offshore processing on people seeking asylum.

In this overview, we examine some of the ways in which archaeologists have increasingly turned their attention to the contemporary world, focusing not on ancient artefacts but on the material legacies that we ourselves are creating and what they tell us about ourselves, including the impact we are having on planetary and human health. One aspect of this “contemporary archaeology” is the study of modern waste, an area of research often referred to as “garbology.” Originating in the later 1960s, this study of modern waste is typically focused on the plastics that characterise what is now commonly referred to as the Plastic Age, a supposedly more familiar past aligning with both cultural experience and memory. The paper emphasises archaeology’s strong interdisciplinary traditions, particularly in its use of scientific methods, which make it easier for archaeologists to work within interdisciplinary teams and with other stakeholders and with policymakers, these being particularly relevant in studies that focus on the contemporary world. The paper concludes by describing how archaeologists are using these perspectives on the contemporary world to cast their eyes forward to the future.

Effective regulation is essential for preventing the establishment of new invasive plants and managing the environmental, social, and economic impacts of those already established. Invasive plants are regulated by jurisdictions at a mix of local, regional, national, and international levels. Enhanced coordination of policy and regulations has been identified as a key strategy for addressing the impacts of invasive species; however, coordination between jurisdictions, and even within jurisdictions, is not always considered. To review regulatory coordination in Australia, we compiled a comprehensive dataset of noxious weeds (defined as invasive plants and potentially invasive plants with controls specified in regulation) in each Australian jurisdiction (i.e., state or territory). We found that jurisdictions on average shared ca. 67% (SD = 15%) of noxious weed listings. Neighboring jurisdictions were not more similar than separated jurisdictions in their noxious weed listings. There were significant differences in the biogeographic native ranges of noxious weeds between jurisdictions, with species native to temperate Asia being most frequently listed overall. The predominant likely entry pathway for noxious weeds in Australia was the ornamental trade. Listings were primarily dedicated to proactive control, prohibiting the cultivation of noxious weeds to avoid their naturalization. There were 415 noxious weeds regulated in a harmonious manner across jurisdictions. However, there were 327 noxious weeds regulated by jurisdictions in a discordant manner, potentially leaving neighboring jurisdictions vulnerable to invasion. We suggest jurisdictions reassess the regulation of these 327 discordant noxious weeds in Australia and utilize a national taxonomic standard to avoid problematic synonyms. Improved cohesion of policies could be achieved through wider adoption of existing regulatory systems and codevelopment of regulations between government and industry.

Reducing inequalities in preconception health and care is critical to improving the health and life chances of current and future generations. A hybrid workshop was held at the 2023 UK Preconception Early and Mid-Career Researchers (EMCR) Network conference to co-develop recommendations on ways to address inequalities in preconception health and care. The workshop engaged multi-disciplinary professionals across diverse career stages and people with lived experience (total n = 69). Interactive discussions explored barriers to achieving optimal preconception health, driving influences of inequalities and recommendations. The Socio-Ecological Model framed the identified themes, with recommendations structured at interpersonal (e.g. community engagement), institutional (e.g. integration of preconception care within existing services) and environmental/societal levels (e.g. education in schools). The co-developed recommendations provide a framework for addressing inequalities in preconception health, emphasising the importance of a whole-systems approach. Further research and evidence-based interventions are now needed to advance the advocacy and implementation of our recommendations.