…even with carefully curated African AI frameworks, the huge power imbalance between African states and big tech companies (who currently dominate Africa’s AI space) will continue to limit the former’s ability to exert regulatory control in the AI domain. Inevitably, African states will end up being consumers of Global North-originating regulations rather than becoming active curators of theirs.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is shaping daily societal practices differently – from foundation models powering popular generative AI platforms to algorithms optimising social networking apps, healthcare, and financial services. Human decisions and choices are now increasingly carried out through automation technologies. AI discussions also come with much techno positivism; a strong rhetoric on AI’s potential to enhance efficiency in service provision, improve labour productivity, and accelerate economic growth.
However, research has shown that the use of…