Memme Onwudiwe, a member of the founding team of AI contract-analysis company Evisort—later acquired by Workday, where he now serves as an AI evangelist has increasingly gained recognition for his academic work on space governance.
Born in the United States to a Ghanaian mother and Nigerian father, Onwudiwe has spent the last three years lecturing law at Harvard while focusing his research on the emerging legal frameworks shaping the global space economy.
While his early career intersected with artificial intelligence and technology entrepreneurship, Onwudiwe’s academic work centers on the rapidly evolving field of space law, particularly the governance of extraterrestrial resources.
His research examines how international institutions might manage the extraction and use of materials beyond Earth as the modern space race accelerates.
In a peer-reviewed journal article titled Africa and the Artemis Accords, Onwudiwe explores how African nations can position themselves within the new space economy.
The research outlines policy pathways for governments across the continent to engage with emerging space governance frameworks and benefit from future commercial and scientific developments.
Now, Onwudiwe’s research is increasingly focused on one central question: who will govern the vast resources beyond Earth.
With nearly all known matter existing outside the planet, he argues that decisions made within the next decade could determine whether space becomes a cooperative frontier or a new arena for geopolitical competition.
“We have all the tools necessary within international law to build institutions that create equity and collaboration in space instead of conflict and competition,” Onwudiwe said. “But we seem to be veering toward outcomes that only benefit a select few.”
Working with collaborators including Dr. Arnold Agaba, a postdoctoral researcher at the McGill Institute of Air and Space Law, Onwudiwe is publishing research advocating for the creation of an international organization to manage space resources.
Their work argues that minerals such as rare earth metals often scarce on Earth but abundant in asteroids and other celestial bodies could become sources of geopolitical tension if governance frameworks are not established early.
The research also highlights a unique opportunity for African nations. Although many countries on the continent have historically struggled to control natural resources within their own borders, the international legal regime governing space particularly under the Outer Space Treaty offers a chance for more equitable participation in future space industries.
Onwudiwe says lessons from the early development of artificial intelligence have shaped his sense of urgency around the issue.
“I saw this when building an AI startup in 2016,” he said. “Issues people don’t think are important become the most important issues very quickly. When it comes to space, we’re deciding in the next few years whether the future will look like Star Wars or Star Trek. If we wait until people are paying attention, it will already be too late.”
