A United Nations panel has issued a stark warning that artificial intelligence may be accelerating “digital colonization” across Africa, as imported systems from abroad deepen existing inequalities and exploit local data resources without equitable returns. The panel, comprising 40 experts from 37 countries and approved by the UN General Assembly last month, draws parallels to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its mission to guide global AI governance over the next three years.
Senegalese AI researcher Adji Bousso Dieng, a Princeton University specialist, highlighted severe risks in an RFI interview. She pointed to Kenyan firms where workers label sensitive data, including traumatic content, under exploitative conditions, without legal safeguards or fair compensation. “That’s digital colonization,” Dieng stated, emphasizing how foreign-trained AI models perpetuate biases against Africans while extracting uncompensated value from the continent’s data.
The independent panel operates without direct UN funding, focusing on education, trade, and technology cooperation to foster indigenous AI development. Dieng advocated for pan-African unity beyond rhetoric: “We need practical collaboration across the continent in technology.” She stressed building local models to avoid perpetual dependency, even as AI holds promise for health, agriculture, and jobs. African nations must prioritize data sovereignty and ethical frameworks to mitigate these threats.
Without urgent action, the panel warns, Africa’s enthusiasm for AI could entrench subjugation rather than empowerment. African leaders were therefore urged to invest in homegrown solutions to secure the continent’s digital destiny.
