Éthique des machines et identités africaines: Perspectives de l'intelligence artificielle en Afrique

Kohnert, Dirk (2022): Éthique des machines et identités africaines: Perspectives de l'intelligence artificielle en Afrique.

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
• English Title: Machine ethics and African identities: Perspectives of artificial intelligence in Africa
• Language: French
• Keywords: Intelligence artificielle; Innovation; Apprentissage automatique; Big Data; Industrie 4.0; valeur morale; Éthique de l'IA; Philosophie africaine; Afrique,; Afrique subsaharienne; développement économique et sociale; développement humain; secteur informel; pauvreté; commerce international; État fragile; Afrique du Sud; Nigeria; Kenya; Postcolonialisme; Études africaines
• 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 > F1 - Trade > F16 - Trade and Labor Market Interactions; 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 > F6 - Economic Impacts of Globalization > F63 - Economic Development; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I24 - Education and Inequality; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I25 - Education and Economic Development; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I31 - General Welfare, Well-Being; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J4 - Particular Labor Markets > J46 - Informal Labor Markets; L - Industrial Organization > L2 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior > L26 - Entrepreneurship; M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M1 - Business Administration > M13 - New Firms ; Startups; N - Economic History > N1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics ; Industrial Structure ; Growth ; Fluctuations > N17 - Africa ; Oceania; N - Economic History > N3 - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy > N37 - Africa ; Oceania; N - Economic History > N4 - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation > N47 - Africa ; Oceania; N - Economic History > N7 - Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services > N77 - Africa ; Oceania; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O14 - Industrialization ; Manufacturing and Service Industries ; Choice of Technology; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O17 - Formal and Informal Sectors ; Shadow Economy ; Institutional Arrangements; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O32 - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O35 - Social Innovation; P - Economic Systems > P4 - Other Economic Systems > P46 - Consumer Economics ; Health ; Education and Training ; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q14 - Agricultural Finance; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z13 - Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology ; Social and Economic Stratification

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