Jake Okechukwu Effoduh

Areas of Expertise

• Technology Justice
• Artificial Intelligence
• International Human Rights Law
• Discrimination and Identities
• Law, Communications and Culture
• Technology Law
• Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL)

Effoduh’s research focuses on the intersections of AI, human rights, and international law. He has contributed to a broad range of AI policy development in several countries, including Canada, the United States, Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, China and Nigeria. He has also carried out legal advocacy within sub-regional and regional systems like the Inter-American Commission, the ECOWAS Court, the East African Court, the African Commission, and the UN Human Rights Council. Effoduh is executing a SSHRC-Explore Grant titled “Codes for Algorithmic Justice”, where he is evaluating regulatory solutions for algorithmic bias against Black Canadians. He is also an inaugural recipient of the Black-Focused Pedagogy Grant Award for his work on Critical Race Theory and Afrofuturism in AI and the Law. He is the convener of “Black Futures by Design”, an expert consultation advancing racial justice in AI governance and regulation. Effoduh has held fellowships at Harvard Law School, Harvard Kennedy School, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Ottawa, and the University of Cape Town. He is currently a 2025/26 Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst Fellow and the Editor-in-Chief of the Transnational Tech Law Review. He is also an Editor of the Transnational Human Rights Review. He is a UNESCO Expert on AI and the Rule of Law, providing training to judges, law teachers and legal officers on the use of AI in legal and judicial contexts. Some of Effoduh’s works have been published by the Harvard Human Rights Journal, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Journal of Robotics, AI & Law, Journal of Scholarly Publishing, Journal of Sustainable Development, Law and Policy, African Journal of Legal Studies, and TWAIL Review.