Machine ethics and African identities: Perspectives of artificial intelligence in Africa

Kohnert, Dirk (2022): Machine ethics and African identities: Perspectives of artificial intelligence in Africa.

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been embraced enthusiastically by Africans as a new resource for African development. AI could improve well-being by enabling innovation in business, education, health, ecology, urban planning, industry, etc. However, the high expectations could be little more than pious wishes. There are still too many open questions regarding the transfer required, and the selection of appropriate technology and its mastery. Given that the 'technology transfer' concept of modernization theories of the 1960s utterly failed because it had not been adapted to local needs, some scholars have called for an endogenous concept of African AI. However, this caused a lot of controversies. Africa became a battlefield of 'digital empires' of global powers due to its virtually non-existent digital infrastructure. Still, African solutions to African problems would be needed. Additionally, the dominant narratives and default settings of AI-related technologies have been denounced as male, gendered, white, heteronormative, powerful, and western. The previous focus on the formal sector is also questionable. Innovators from the informal sector and civil society, embedded in the local sociocultural environment but closely linked to transnational social spaces, often outperform government development efforts. UNESCO also warned that the effective use of AI in Africa requires the appropriate skills, legal framework and infrastructure. As in the past, calls by African politicians for a pooling of resources, a pan-African strategy, were probably in vain. AI may develop fastest in the already established African technology hubs of South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. But promising AI-focused activities have also been identified in Ethiopia and Uganda. Gender equality, cultural and linguistic diversity, and changes in labour markets would also be required for AI to enhance rather than undermine socioeconomic inclusion. In addition, ethical questions related to a specific African identity have been raised. The extent to which African ideas of humanity and humanitarianism should be taken into account when developing an African AI remains an open question. In short, calling for the rapid deployment of AI in Africa could be a double-edged sword.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Innovation;, Machine learning; Big Data Analytics; moral values; AI ethics; African ethics; African philosophy; Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; economic development; human development; informal sector; poverty; famine; international trade; global power; fragile state; South Africa; Nigeria; Kenya; Uganda; Ethiopia; Postcolonialism; African Studies
• Subjects: E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E2 - Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy > E24 - Employment ; Unemployment ; Wages ; Intergenerational Income Distribution ; Aggregate Human Capital ; Aggregate Labor Productivity; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E2 - Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy > E26 - Informal Economy ; Underground Economy; F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F15 - Economic Integration; F - International Economics > F2 - International Factor Movements and International Business > F22 - International Migration; F - International Economics > F3 - International Finance > F35 - Foreign Aid; F - International Economics > F5 - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy > F54 - Colonialism ; Imperialism ; Postcolonialism; F - International Economics > F6 - Economic Impacts of Globalization > F63 - Economic Development; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J4 - Particular Labor Markets; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J4 - Particular Labor Markets > J46 - Informal Labor Markets; L - Industrial Organization > L2 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior > L26 - Entrepreneurship

References

Adepetun, Adeyemi (2022): 55 African languages to benefit as Meta’s AI machine translation debuts. Lagos: The Guardian, 13 July 2022

Agwah, Benjamin & Marvis Aririguzo & Paulinus Chinaenye Eze (2020) : ICT solutions and R&D based on big data analytics in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic: African innovations and opportunities. IRE Journals, vol. 4 (2), researchgate, pp. 1-24

Anasiudu, Okwudiri (2021): Re-thinking Afropolitanism: the kinship and differences. Journal of African identities, 20 Mar 2022 (online), pp. 1-18

Ani, N. Christian (2019): Three schools of thought on ‘African Solutions to African Problems’. Journal of Black Studies, vol 50 (2), pp. 1-21

Badaoui, S. & R. Najah (2021) : Intelligence artificielle et cyber-colonisation: Implications sur l'Afrique. Africa-Portal, Policy Brief, 11 January 2021, pp. 1-9

Belot, Laure (2018) : La créativité africaine dopée par l’intelligence artificielle. Le Monde Afrique, 17 June 2018

Besaw, Clayton & John Filitz (2019): AI & global governance: AI in Africa is a double-edged sword. New York: United Nations University, Centre for Policy Research (online),

Bird, Eleanor et al. (2020): The ethics of artificial intelligence: Issues and initiatives. Brussels: Panel for the Future of Science and Technology. EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service, Scientific Foresight Unit (STOA), PE 634.452 – March 2020

Capurro, Rafael (2008): Information ethics for and from Africa. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, vol. 59(7), pp.1162-1170

Cisse, Moustapha (2018): Look to Africa to advance artificial intelligence. Nature, vol. 562, Issue 7728, October 2018, 1 p.

Doua, Edmont (2022) : Enjeux et pratiques de l'intelligence artificielle dans le secteur bancaire en Côte d'ivoire. Communication, technologies et développement, vol. 11, 2022, pp. 1-13

El Manir, M. (2019) : Africa's cyberspace: A field of clear contradictions. Africa-Portal, 1 November 2019, pp. 1-9

EraInnovator (2022): Artificial Intelligence in Africa, 4 May 2022

Faria, Julia (2022): Funding value secured by tech startups in Africa 2015-2021. 9 February 2022

Foster, Laura A. & Bram Van Wiele & Tobias Schoenwetter (2020): Narratives of artificial intelligence in a gendered and racialized world: Emergence on the African continent. We Robot, 2020, pp. 1-15

Frimousse, Soufyane (2021): Dépasser le cyber-management avec les permanences africaines. La Revue des Sciences de Gestion, 2021/3-4 (N° 309-310), pp. 83-91

Gabay, Clive (2018). Afropolitanism and the White-Western incorporation of Africa. In: Gabay, Clive (ed.): Imagining Africa: Whiteness and the Western Gaze. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 182-202

Gadzala, Aleksandra (2018): Coming to life: Artificial intelligence in Africa. Washington D.C.: Atlantic Council, Africa Center, Issue Brief, November 2018

Gaus, Alexander & Wade Hoxtell (2019): Automation and the future of work in Sub-Saharan Africa. Berlin: Konrad-Adenauer Foundation (KAS)

GSMA (2019): The mobile economy: Sub-Saharan Africa 2019. London: GSM Association

Gwagwa, Arthur E. (2019): African (sub-Saharan) perspectives on artificial intelligence: Towards inclusive global AI governance. Utrecht University Centre for Global Challenges under its project on Disrupting Technological Innovation? Towards an Ethical and Legal Framework, Academia.edu, pp. 1-26

Gwagwa, Arthur et al. (2021): Road map for research on responsible artificial intelligence for development (AI4D) in African countries: The case study of agriculture. Patterns, vol. 2 (12), 10 December 2021 (online)

Gwagwa, Arthur & Emre Kazim & Airlie Hilliard (2022): The role of the African value of Ubuntu in global AI inclusion discourse: A normative ethics perspective. Patterns (N Y). vol. 3(4), pp. 1-7

Gwagwa, A. & E. Kraemer-Mbula & N. Rizk (2020): Artificial Intelligence (AI) deployments in Africa: benefits, challenges and policy dimensions. The African Journal of Information and Communication, No. 26, pp. 1-28

Hall, James (2015): Cynical African leaders whose motive is not to protect their people but themselves say the concept of human rights is a non-African concept. In on Africa (IOA, South Africa), 30 October 2015

Hansrajh, Thejal (2020): South Africa's long walk to 4IR. Linkedin, 29 November 2020

Hern, Alex (2016): Stephen Hawking: Artificial intelligence is likely to be either the best or worst thing to happen to humanity. London: The Guardian, 19 October 2016

Hervieu, Sébastien (2021): To target welfare recipients, the government relies on artificial intelligence. A unique system in Africa. Horizons Africaines, 30 September 2021

IIAG (2020): Ibrahim Index of African Governance: Key findings. London: IIAG, Mo Ibrahim Foundation

IRCAI (2021): Artificial intelligence in Sub-Saharan Africa. Compendium report. Artificial Intelligence for Development Initiative, Ljubljana: International Research Centre in Artificial Intelligence under the auspices of UNESCO (IRCAI), January 2021, 103 p.

Jecker, Nancy S. & Caesar Atuire & Martin Odei Ajei (2022): The moral standing of social robots: Untapped insights from Africa. Philosophy & Technology, vol. 35(2), pp. 1-22

Kiyindou, Alain (2019) : Intelligence artificielle et société africaine: pour un développement intelligent. XVe Conférence Internationale EUTIC 2019 | 15th International Conference EUTIC 2019

Kohnert, Dirk (2021 c): BTI 2021 - Togo Country Report: Togo's Political and Socio-Economic Development (2019-2021) [author's enhanced version] Kohnert, D. (2022): Togo. In : Adetula & Kamski & Mehler & Melber (eds.), Africa Yearbook. Vol. 17 – Politics, economy and society South of the Sahara in 2022. Leiden & Boston; SSOAR-WP, Nr. 70279-5

Kohnert, Dirk (2021 b): On the socio-economic impact of pandemics in Africa: Lessons learned from COVID-19, Trypanosomiasis, HIV, Yellow Fever and Cholera. MPRA-WP, No. 107561

Kohnert, Dirk (2021 a): BTI 2021 - Togo Country Report: Togo's Political and Socio-Economic Development (2019-2021) [author's enhanced version of: Kohnert, D. (2022): Togo. In : Adetula & Kamski & Mehler & Melber (eds.), Africa Yearbook. Vol. 17 – Politics, economy and society South of the Sahara in 2022. Leiden & Boston]

Kohnert, Dirk (2021): The impact of digitalization on poverty alleviation in Africa. MPRA WP, No. 110296, SSRN WPS 3944941

Kohnert, Dirk (2019): The ethics of African regional and continental integration. MPRA WP, No.95562

Kohnert, Dirk (2007) : On the renaissance of African modes of thought - The example of the belief in magic and witchcraft. In: Schmidt, Burghart / Schulte, Rolf (eds.): Witchcraft in Modern Africa: Witches, witch-hunts and magical imaginaries. Hamburg: Dokumentation & Buch (DOBU), 2007: 39-61

Kohnert, Dirk (2004) : Are non-state actors better innovators? The Ambiguous Role of Non-state Actors in the Transition Process: The Case of Benin and Madagascar. MPRA_paper_No. 977

Kohnert, Dirk & Hans J. Preuss (2019): Benin’s stealthy democracide - How Africa's model democracy commits suicide in stages. MPRA-WP, No. 96832

Lalanne, Charlotte (2021) : Des champs aux marchés... Twiga, la start-up qui révolutionne l'agroalimentaire au Kenya. Paris : L’Express, 15 August 2021

Ludik, Jacques (2018) : Développements et futur de l'IA en Afrique. World Bank Group, 2018 Skills Building Program, Big data, artificial intelligence and decision science in health and nutrition

Mahomed, S. (2018) : Healthcare, artificial intelligence and the fourth industrial revolution: Ethical, social and legal considerations. South African Journal of Bioethics and Law, 2018 vol. 11 (2), pp. 1-3

Marwala, T. (2019) : L'intelligence artificielle aux portes de l'Afrique. Le Courrier de l'UNESCO, vol. 2019, Issue 2, May 2019, p. 56 – 57

Mbembe, Achille & Laurent Chauvet (2020) : Afropolitanism. Nka, vol. 2020, issue 46, pp. 56–61

McCarthy, John (2006): The philosophy of AI and the AI of philosophy. Stanford University, 25 June 2006

Mhlambi, Sabelo & Art Jahnke (2021): Can an ancient African philosophy save us from AI bias? Boston University, BU today, 11 February 2021

Miailhe, N. (2018) : Géopolitique de l'intelligence artificielle: le retour des empires? Politique étrangère, 2018 (3), pp. 105-117

Ndione, M. (2022) : La gouvernance au sein des pays de l'UEMOA: avantages de l'utilisation de l'intelligence artificielle. Communication, technologies et développement, no. 11, 2022, pp. 1-11

Olbrich, Philipp (2021): Soziale Entwicklung: Künstliche Intelligenz für ALLE. Bonn / Eschborn: BMZ /giz, February 2021

Pira, Kouassi Touffouo Frederic (2020): Vulgarisation des théories d'adoption et d'appropriation des innovations technologiques pour une intelligence artificielle africaine . Communications, technologies et développement, [En ligne], November 2022

Rafanelli, Lucia M. (2022): Justice, injustice, and artificial intelligence: Lessons from political theory and philosophy. Big Data & Society, January–June, 2022, pp. 1–5

Rapanyane, M.B. & F.R. Sethole (2020): The rise of artificial intelligence and robots in the 4th Industrial Revolution: implications for future South African job creation. Contemporary Social Science, vol. 15 (4), pp. 489-501

Rath, Anna von (2020): Afropolitanism as ethico-political stance: Achille Mbembe. Pocolit.com, 22 June 2020

Sagna, David (2021) : Modélisation des précipitations par l'intelligence artificielle ou apprentissage automatique en Casamance. Centre de ressources virtuel des Rivières du Sud, Université Assane Seck de Ziguinchor, mémoire, 27 March 2021

Schughart, Anna (2022): Eine künstliche Intelligenz mit Bewusstsein? Warum das unser kleinstes KI-Problem ist. Kieler Nachrichten, 15 July 2022

Sibal, Prateek & Bhanu Neupane (2021): Artificial intelligence needs assessment survey in Africa. UNESCO, 86 p.

Sonhaye, K.N. (2022) : L'intelligence artificielle, une opportunité pour l'agriculture au Togo. Communication, technologies et développment, vol. 11 | 2022, pp. 1-14

Soudan, François (2022) : Népotism et démocratie en Afrique : pouvoirs sexuellement transmissibles. Jeune Afrique, 2 May 2022

stats-sa (2022): South Africa's youth continues to bear the burden of unemployment. Department of Statistics South Africa. 1 June 2022

Taibi, Boumedyen & K Khadidja Lamri (2021): Startups d'intelligence artificielle: une tendance mondiale. Les Cahiers du MECAS, vol. 17 (1), Mars 2021

Travaly, Youssef & Kevin Muvunyi (2020): The future is intelligent: Harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence in Africa. Brookings, Foresight Africa 2020, 13 January 2020

Wareham, Christopher S. (2021): Artificial intelligence and African conceptions of personhood. Ethics and information technology, vol. 23, pp. 127–136

University of Pretoria (2018): Artificial intelligence for Africa: An opportunity for growth, development and democratisation. London, University of Pretoria, 48 p.