Speaking at the GITEX Africa Morocco 2026 technology summit, Omar Seghrouchni, President of Morocco's National Commission for the Control of Personal Data Protection (CNDP), issued a stark warning about the intersection of artificial intelligence and data privacy. He framed data protection not merely as a technical or legal issue, but as a fundamental safeguard for human dignity in the digital age.
Seghrouchni argued that in an era of pervasive AI, personal data has become a raw material that can be processed to infer intimate aspects of an individual's life, beliefs, and behaviors. He cautioned that without robust ethical and legal guardrails, the export and processing of this data by global platforms could lead to a form of "dignity export," where an individual's autonomy and worth are compromised by opaque algorithmic systems.
The CNDP president emphasized the urgent need to develop international governance frameworks that prioritize human rights. He positioned Morocco's 2009 data protection law, recently reinforced by the creation of the CNDP, as a foundational step. However, he stressed that global cooperation is essential to establish standards that prevent technology from undermining the very dignity it promises to enhance.
His intervention at one of Africa's largest tech events highlights the growing global discourse on AI ethics, particularly from regulatory perspectives in the Global South. The call centers on ensuring technological advancement is aligned with preserving core human values, making data protection a critical pillar of digital sovereignty and ethical innovation.
