In an era where artificial intelligence is redefining human interaction, decision-making, and governance, the call for ethical guardrails has become a global imperative. From predictive policing to facial recognition, AI applications are influencing lives at a scale unseen in any previous technological revolution. Stanford’s report highlighted a 20% decline in corporate spending on AI in 2023, dropping to $189.2 billion. This decrease was largely attributed to a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions, which fell by 31.2% compared to the previous year. Yet, as innovation accelerates, concerns about AI’s ethical implications, bias, accountability, surveillance, and job displacement are dominating global discourse.
Recognising the risks, multilateral institutions have stepped forward. In November 2021, UNESCO adopted the “Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence”, which all 194 member states, including African nations, endorsed. This landmark framework promotes human rights, inclusion, environmental sustainability, and transparency in AI deployment. Similarly, the OECD updated its 2019 AI Principles in May 2024 to accommodate emergent ethical dilemmas in generative AI, stressing robustness, democratic values, and accountability.
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In December 2023, the United Nations launched its High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence to ensure that AI aligns with sustainable development and human rights globally. The body is tasked with creating a global scientific consensus on risks, safety standards, and governance models, particularly for countries in the Global South.
Africa’s place in the global AI revolution is growing, yet precariously positioned. In July 2024, the African Union Commission officially adopted the “Continental AI Strategy for Africa”, signalling a watershed moment in Africa’s digital transformation. The strategy emphasises fostering homegrown AI innovation, creating regulatory frameworks, and strengthening AI-related infrastructure while minimising harm to civil liberties and socio-economic rights.
Despite such ambitious policy frameworks, Africa ranks last in the 2024 Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index. Sub-Saharan Africa’s average score is 30.16 out of 100, trailing far behind Europe (71.9) and North America (74.3). The digital divide remains staggering: only 33% of Africans have access to reliable internet, according to the International Telecommunication Union’s 2023 report.
Moreover, few African countries – South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya, Egypt, Mauritius, and Nigeria – currently possess national AI strategies. The rest remain largely unregulated, risking ethical lapses, exploitative AI labour practices, and surveillance misuse.
South Africa’s Institutional Push for AI Accountability
South Africa is the continent’s frontrunner in formal AI integration. In 2022, the South African government launched the Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa (AIISA), a collaboration between academia, government, and industry. The institute not only focuses on AI innovation but has also embedded ethical research into its core operations. In June 2024, AIISA published the country’s first “AI Ethics Assessment Toolkit”, helping startups and developers align with responsible AI practices.
Rwanda’s AI in Healthcare
Rwanda is leveraging AI to revolutionise healthcare delivery, using machine learning algorithms to diagnose diseases like tuberculosis and cervical cancer. In partnership with Babylon Health, Rwanda has deployed AI-based diagnostic tools in community clinics. However, critics warn about opaque data-sharing agreements and the lack of informed consent mechanisms. In April 2024, the Rwandan Parliament began reviewing data protection legislation to address these concerns.
The Algorithmic Cage
As African governments adopt AI surveillance tools for policing and border control, concerns are mounting over privacy violations and racial profiling. In Uganda, facial recognition software developed in collaboration with Huawei has been used to track political protesters since 2020. A 2023 investigation by Human Rights Watch found that such technologies were often deployed without legal frameworks or public accountability, risking infringement on civil liberties.
Towards Ethical AI That Reflects African Realities
For Africa to harness AI ethically and inclusively, governance must reflect indigenous values and historical sensitivities. The AU’s Continental AI Strategy calls for the inclusion of Ubuntu-based ethics, emphasising interconnectedness and communal well-being in its AI regulatory framework. However, turning this vision into practice requires massive investments in local research, digital literacy, and civic engagement.
A promising initiative is Nigeria’s 2024 National Artificial Intelligence Research Scheme (NAIRS), which allocated $50 million to fund ethical AI research across public universities.
Global Partnerships and Africa’s Ethical Leverage
Africa’s unique position offers it an opportunity to shape global AI norms from a moral standpoint. In June 2024, during the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, experts called for “a global governance model that does not merely include Africa but is co-designed with it.” The summit also saw the unveiling of the Africa-EU Digital Ethics Partnership, aimed at co-developing fair and accountable AI solutions.
Turning Ethical Aspirations into Action
AI is neither inherently good nor evil; it reflects the intentions of its creators and the systems that govern it. For Africa, the challenge lies in building ethical resilience into its AI ecosystem before the technology embeds itself too deeply into flawed structures. By anchoring its AI development in human rights, indigenous wisdom, and international cooperation, the continent can emerge not just as a user of AI but as a global leader in its ethical governance.
The road ahead demands courage, investment, and vigilance. But if navigated wisely, Africa’s approach to AI ethics can become a model for other developing regions, proving that innovation and rights are not mutually exclusive, but mutually reinforcing.
