Ethics of AI in Africa: Interrogating the role of Ubuntu and AI governance initiatives

Abstract

One of the common concerns raised in AI ethics scholarship is the overly western-centric nature of ongoing AI ethics discourse and governance initiatives. This has recently prompted many commentators to proclaim the emergence of an epistemic injustice or “ethical colonialism”. Many scholars point to the role of indigenous ethical systems, particularly Ubuntu, in addressing this flaw. In the meantime, a series of national and continental AI governance initiatives are also emerging in Africa. But the extent to which Ubuntu and emergent AI governance initiatives contribute towards addressing the problem of epistemic injustice is yet to be interrogated. In a novel approach, I examine in this article the extent to which Ubuntu and AI governance initiatives in Africa articulate an African perspective of AI ethics, and hence address the epistemic injustice. I argue that neither the normative structure of Ubuntu nor recent AI governance initiatives offer a clear, coherent and practicable framework of “African AI ethics”. I further show that the much-touted “African” ethics of Ubuntu is rarely referenced or implied in recent national or continental AI governance initiatives. I close the article with a call for defining African AI ethics by relevant actors in the continent.