Towards an AI for Africa

In Harare, Zimbabwe, a person seeking life advice from an artificial intelligence (AI) system may face challenges due to the cultural clash between the AI's values and the individual's. The AI is a Western invention and is likely to reflect the values of its creators, which may not align with the AI user's cultural norms. Currently, only 42 African languages are supported by an LLM, leaving 98% of African languages without meaningful AI support.

African nations risk being excluded from the AI revolution, experiencing a new form of colonialism where Western values are imposed upon them. This process, called "algorithmic colonialism," threatens to diminish or obscure the foundational ethical framework of African cultures, such as the Hunhu/Ubuntu tradition. To ensure AI serves everyone, it must be developed inclusively, incorporating African values and perspectives.

Presently, AI ethics frameworks, such as those from the European Commission, OECD, and UNESCO, uphold principles like fairness, transparency, accountability, and human dignity. However, these values have roots in Western Enlightenment liberalism and may not align with African moral traditions. The ethical architecture of AI systems has been largely developed without input from African scholars, resulting in technology that contradicts African values.

Western AI values revolve around rationality, individualism, and autonomy, which emphasize the individual over communalism and view the individual as an autonomous, rational being. These values, deeply rooted in Western philosophy, pose challenges for African societies that prioritize communalism and collective decision-making. Addressing these disparities is crucial in ensuring AI benefits all people, not just its creators, and respects African moral traditions.