Digital Platforms are taking over almost, if not most, every single task in people’s lives. Indeed, this can be debated, but when we look around, we might find that our lives are becoming digital in most aspects: from daily commercial transactions to social correspondence, news consumption and entertainment media, all are consumed and used digitally. Nowadays, the majority of people rely on getting their shopping done through their favourite online shopping platforms, entrust algorithms to recommend genres similar to their favourite music or movies, and others might take it a bit further and put their trust in digital platforms and their utilised algorithms to find them the right job or partner. In this context, the question is to what extent people who are not experts are willing to share their personal information on these digital platforms when they pursue a commercial transaction that requires their sensitive credit card information, or when they share their addresses and other personal information. Yet, the debate extends to whether AI, in its ubiquitous form that integrates into various aspects of our daily life would hinder this trust, owing to its opacity and black-box nature, which may diminish people’s trust in its utility. Besides, we might stop for a second to ask ourselves what trust is: is it a value, a moral aspect, a process, a rule or a mere technical procedure implemented in the digital industry?

All of the above pondered questions were discussed at the AI forum “From Silicon Valley to the Nile Valley,” organised by the U.S. Embassy, at the Nile Ritz Carlton in Cairo, on 21 July 2026, where alignAI doctoral candidate Mohaned Bahr, was an invited panelist, which addressed all the aforementioned questions. The forum brought together a diverse group of speakers to discuss AI policy issues, including socioeconomic impacts, youth engagement and media development.

As a panelist, Mr. Bahr addressed critical topics, including digital trust by design, AI policy and regulations and data privacy. The discussion explored the necessary AI governance frameworks to ensure innovation develops alongside accountability. He highlighted several issues related to trust. The discussion started by asking whether trust could be defined as a concept. In his answers, he mentioned trust could be a process, without focusing on the two parties: the trustor and trustee. Trust could be conceptualised and embodied in the process itself; when people trust that their rights are protected because safeguards are effectively implemented and the due processes are transparent, integral and impartial. In terms of entities, trust is earned and accumulated when an entity’s practices demonstrate trustworthiness regarding the privacy of its customers, who are the end users of digital platforms and AI systems. Although established regulations, such as the GDPR, have inspired a plethora of data protection regulations worldwide, the process of building trust still constitutes a major challenge, compounded by the rapid advances of AI. Along this line, Mr. Bahr, amid his discussion on trust by design, was asked whether policymakers should adopt more sector-specific regulations. He addressed this question by stating that the issue is not devising more regulations; it is crafting better regulations capable of pursuing regulatory aims, enabling innovation, protecting societies and safeguarding fundamental rights.

The significance of this discussion, and the highlights of the forum, is a testament that AI governance is a pressing topic that evolves around the world. It is not moderated or influenced by the Global North, yet the Global South is involved as well in this concerned future of AI and digital platforms governance. AI governance is not just a future concern but is actively shaping policy, business and society today.

Among the panelists were, Soha Rizk, North Africa Lead Manager at Cisco, and the discussion moderated by Mustafa Khater, Managing Director of Flat6Labs Cairo. The forum was organised by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, on behalf of the U.S. State Department.