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

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

Dirk Kohnert

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

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.

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 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 E26 F15 F16 F22 F35 F63 I24 I25 I31 J46 L26 M13 N17 N37 N47 N77 O14 O17 O32 O35 P46 Q14 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-07-17
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-iue
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