BY: Mustapha Lawal
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly viewed as a beacon of promise for Africa, particularly in terms of driving development and enhancing global competitiveness. However, the situation is more complex, especially in Nigeria, where the implications of AI are both profound and concerning.
AI does not operate in a vacuum; it enters a landscape rife with inequality, weak institutions, and limited regulatory frameworks. In such environments, the deployment of AI technologies tends to exacerbate existing disparities rather than mitigate them. Automated systems now play critical roles in determining who has access to loans, who gets visibility online, and whose voices are magnified or muted. Yet, the guidelines that govern these technologies remain largely opaque and unaccountable, often designed outside the continent.
In Nigeria, AI-driven technologies permeate many aspects of life, including social media moderation, facial recognition, recruitment processes, and the management of election-related content. This landscape has also become a breeding ground for some of AI’s more harmful effects, such as the proliferation of deepfakes that heighten religious tensions and the spread of misinformation, particularly during election cycles. These issues are not merely theoretical; they already have tangible impacts on political trust, social cohesion, and economic opportunities for citizens.
A pervasive myth about AI is its inherent neutrality. In reality, algorithms reflect the biases of their creators, the datasets on which they are trained, and the political contexts in which they function. For African nations like Nigeria, this often means that systems are developed elsewhere, trained on data that does not accurately represent local realities, and implemented with minimal oversight. This has led researchers to label this phenomenon as algorithmic colonialism, where African societies bear the risks while value and accountability remain concentrated in the Global North.
The most apparent risks arise within the information ecosystem. AI-generated content—ranging from text to images to audio—challenges the boundaries between fact and fabrication. In an environment characterized by media literacy gaps and declining institutional trust, synthetic media not only misleads but also destabilizes public discourse. Fact-checkers find themselves in a relentless battle against technologies capable of generating credible falsehoods at scale, while tools designed to identify such fabrications struggle to keep pace.
Beyond the dissemination of misinformation, AI’s influence extends to labor markets, surveillance practices, and governance frameworks that merit close examination. Automation threatens various informal and entry-level jobs that millions of young Nigerians depend upon for their livelihoods. Additionally, predictive policing and biometric systems pose significant concerns regarding privacy and misuse in states with inadequate protections. Gender biases further complicate the landscape, as AI-enabled harassment and non-consensual synthetic media disproportionately affect women and marginalized communities, often with limited recourse to justice.
This article serves as the introduction to a forthcoming series by FactCheckAfrica, which will scrutinize the multifaceted impacts of AI across the continent, focusing specifically on Nigeria. As AI technologies increasingly influence elections, employment, security, and public discourse, the series will explore who stands to gain, who bears the brunt of AI’s negative consequences, and who holds the reins of accountability when technology outpaces governance efforts. Through a series of explainers, investigations, and opinion pieces, FactCheckAfrica aims to highlight African experiences that are frequently overlooked in global discussions about AI.
Ultimately, the primary danger posed by artificial intelligence in Africa lies not in the sophistication of the technology itself but in the rapid pace at which it is advancing, outstripping the ability to safeguard the very individuals who must live with its consequences.
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