AI in Africa : Framing AI through an African Lens

Abstract

Development and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in Africa has occurred slowly relative to developed countries. A vibrant AI ecosystem is growing on the continent. Due to the unique geographical, cultural and political nature of the continent, the 4th industrial revolution on the continent is evolving differently from its global counterparts. The motivations for development of AI systems, the parties involved, and the impact of the AI ecosystem on the continent are therefore best analyzed and framed through a unique African lens. This paper seeks to begin this process by developing a conceptual framework to characterize the parties involved in the African AI ecosystem. i.e., the African AI stakeholder. Identification of these stakeholders will aid in determining their interests, responsibilities and accountability and will provide a basis for the development and implementation of an equitable AI ecosystem. It is our goal that this framework, ultimately, be used to guide the contributions from the African AI perspective in global dialogues on ethics, bias, inclusion and similar topics in the AI sphere.

Responsible artificial intelligence in Africa: Towards policy learning

“…In seeking to frame AI governance through an African lens, Wairegi et al (2021), suggest that stakeholders may be understood through the different normative claims they make with respect to the technology's implementation. These claims are centred on three basic stakes: economic opportunity, political equality, and authenticity.…”

AI in Africa. Preliminary Notes on Design and Adoption

“…This is premised on how the African perspective on AI design and deployment is largely missing within global AI discourse. Even with the expansion of commentaries (Cisse, 2018;Hao, 2019;Birhane, 2020;Siyonbola, 2021;Allison, 2023), articles (Wairegi, Omino & Rutenberg, 2021;Birhane et al, 2022;Eke & Ogoh, 2022) and edited books (Brokensha, Kotzé & Senekal, 2023;Eke, Wakunuma & Akintoye, 2023) on AI in/from Africa, "Africa's diverse philosophical, religious, political, historical and linguistic traditions that can capture alternative narratives of what AI can and should be are almost forgotten" (Eke & Ogoh, 2022 p. 2). This has begun to change with actors across sectors and the domestication of African perspectives and experiences within the global AI narratives (e.g.…”

“…This form of support could involve designing AI that can contribute to the expansion and enhancement of the agricultural and livestock activities of the community, growing the knowledge base of the members of the community through informal and formal education, etc. This view is justified by the results of recent studies which aimed to critically analyse the developing AI ecosystems from an African perspective (Wairegi, Omino & Rutenberg, 2021), and how they could support the design and adoption of AI amongst indigenous and marginalised communities. The authors created an AI stakeholder framework which according to their research is one of the crucial first steps in this process (Wairegi, Omino & Rutenberg, 2021).…”

Guest editorial: Artificial intelligence and composing just education futures

“…The work of this special issue highlights the ethical and socio-political implications for composing with and for imagined and unimaginable audiences (De Kosnik, 2021; Dixon-Román et al , 2020). As Enriquez et al (this issue) emphasize, this is a moment requiring both recognition of the pasts and presents of algorithms in contemporary society–particularly in relation to how we create, compose, and interpret meaning – and a reimagining of what it means to reconfigure compositional technologies and lived, embodied enactments (Watson and Marciano, 2023) toward more just futures (Pangrazio et al , 2022; Wairegi et al , 2021).…”